WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Vice President J.D. Vance, during his speech at the 2026 National March for Life, reaffirmed his support for the pro-life movement, emphasized the fact that every life is a gift from God, not a burden or inconvenience, compared abortion to the human sacrifice of pagan societies, and touted several pro-life victories achieved during the first year of the Trump-Vance administration.
“We have to be clear, we can not be neutral, our country cannot be indifferent whether its next generations live or die,” the vice president said. “Think about it, what ultimately gives meaning and life to the United States of America? Every civilization has been forced to answer (this question). We march today because you have an answer to this question, about what kind of civilization we are, what kind of civilization we’re going to become in the future.”
Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks at the 2026 National March for Life Rally https://t.co/AGp4tz2sfJ
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) January 23, 2026
Vance noted that the Mayans and several other pagan societies would often sacrifice their children, comparing this to how the unborn are treated as inconveniences today.
“(I)n the ancient pagan world, discarding children was routine,” he said, noting “the child sacrifice of the Mayans.”
He added, “the mark of barbarism is that we treat babies like inconveniences to be discarded rather than the blessings to cherish that they are. But the inheritance of our civilization is something else, the fact that as Scripture tells us, each life is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ by our Creator.” (Psalm 139:14)
“The March for Life … is not just about a political issue …. It’s about whether we will remain a civilization under God or whether we ultimately return to the paganism that dominated the past,” he continued.
READ: JD Vance says Christian values are central to US, created ‘most moral’ civilization
Vance highlighted how today young people are often told that having children and raising a family are a burden but that pro-lifers know that, in reality, they are a gift from God.
“Today, the far left in this country tells our young people that marriage and children are obstacles, that it’s irresponsible, even immoral, because of ‘climate change’ or some other reason, to encourage our young people to raise a family. They tell us that life itself is a burden, but we here at this march … we know that it’s a lie,” he said. “We know that life is a gift, we know that babies are precious because we know them, we love them, and we see the way that they can transform our families.”
“We know that family is not just the source of a great joy, but is part of God’s design for men and women, a design that extends outward to our family, to our neighborhoods, to our communities, and to the United States of America itself,” he added. “And we here know that treating everyone with dignity isn’t always easy, it’s not always convenient, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Vance knows firsthand how precious a gift life is, as he and Second Lady Usha Vance announced this week that they are expecting their fourth child in late July. The vice president opened his speech discussing the news.
READ: JD Vance, second lady announce they’re expecting fourth child
“Some of you may remember that in my remarks last year, I told you all that one of the things I most wanted in the United States of America was more families and more babies,” the vice president said. “So let the record show, you have a vice president who practices what he preaches.”
During Vance’s speech at the 2025 march, his first public address after being inaugurated as the 50th vice president had stressed that he wanted to see more babies born and families raised across the country.
“I want more babies in the USA. I want more happy children in our country. And I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them,” he said at the time. “It is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford kids, to bring them into the world, and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are.”
Vance also heralded several notable pro-life policies enacted under the Trump-Vance administration, such as cutting taxpayer funding for abortions, the end of government arrests of pro-life activists for simply praying outside abortuaries, and enforcing conscience protections for people of faith.
“Throwing priests and grandmothers in prison for praying outside a clinic, that’s over. We stopped it,” he said. “Where the previous administration mandated taxpayer funding for abortions, including travel costs, across the entire government, this administration ended it.”
“We have expanded conscience protections for health care workers and defended faith-based foster care and adoption,” he added. “We gutted Biden-era rules and ensured that no nun, no nurse, no pharmacist, and no physician has to check their faith and their values at the door of their workplace.”
READ: Trump says ‘battle’ to build culture of life ‘must be won’ in video address to March for Life
During his speech at last year’s March for Life, Vance similarly touted the Trump administration’s prompt reversal of the Biden administration’s targeted prosecution of pro-life advocates.
“No longer will the federal government direct FBI raids on the homes of people like Mark Houck and other Catholic and Christian activists who are fighting for the unborn every single day,” Vance said last year.
It’s worth noting that despite his comments, Vance, a Catholic convert, has in the past broken with both the pro-life movement and Catholic teaching by expressing support for abortion exceptions. He has previously suggested support for access to abortion pills and reiterated that the Trump-Vance administration would not support a federal abortion ban.
The administration has also been sharply criticized by pro-lifers for not reversing the Biden administration’s decision not to enforce federal law against mailing abortion pills across state lines, despite the tactic undermining state pro-life laws. Pro-lifers have hoped that stance might change with the administration’s pledge to review the safety data of abortion pills, but have been frustrated by the lack of updates amid allegations (which the administration denies) that the review is being slow-walked until after the 2026 midterms.
