HARRISBURG, PA— This morning, I watched a woman drive into a Planned Parenthood parking lot. Her window rolled down, she braked next to the sidewalk. A clinic volunteer told her to keep driving onto the private property as a pro-life advocate asked the woman if she knew about pregnancy options; both of them ending up crowding her vehicle window.

The woman looked scared.

After she drove in, a construction worker at the house right next to the property started a shouting argument with the pro-life volunteer. Condemning their interjecting themselves into someone’s private business. The volunteers response was simple. A baby’s life is at stake.

I walked away from the clinic-turned-verbal war zone.

Today was Pennsylvania’s 5th annual March for Life. Several groups from our viewing area made the drive to Harrisburg for the event. Around a thousand people showed up.

In 2024, the Guttmacher Institute reports there were 1,038,100 abortions in the United States.

"I think it's just really important to recognize how many people are out here,” said Rep. Clint Owlett, a Republican from Tioga County. "This is the biggest rally demonstration that you're going to see in Harrisburg at any point during the year."

Attendance was roughly the same as previous year's event. Speakers referenced the death of Charlie Kirk, and a plethora of attendees held signs with pictures or quotes from  the conservative leader.

“His goal was to change the people around him, and that's where it all starts,” said David Valesky, who came down with Crawford County Citizens for Life. "You know, when we, when we make the decision to change and talk and debate people around us, then that's how we see change in the walls of our capital."

Legislatively, little has been done this session to either strengthen or oppose abortion policy in Harrisburg. Planned Parenthood lists nine bills they support and nine bills they oppose.

Support revolves around removing a 24 hour waiting period on abortions, increasing Medicaid insurance coverage for procedures, and increasing emergency situation protections. They also want stronger rules to keep protestors/advocates away from clinic entrances, called FACE laws.

Bills they oppose deal with requiring pain control for a fetus, rules on what to do with fetal remains, and a early human life development education requirement— all of which the site says promotes “person hood”. 

Signe Espinoza, the Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates, gave this statement on today's march, saying "90% of Pennsylvanians want abortion to remain legal. We will continue to make their voices heard in the halls of the Capitol every day."

AP NORC reports that nationally, 85 to 90% of Americans want abortion legal for circumstances like rape or a health crisis for the mother or child.

That drops to 47% for if a woman wants an abortion for any reason.

"Circumstances don't define the value of a person's life. At the end of the day, God assigns value to all life, not circumstances,” Valesky said.

Gallup polls reports that 49% of Americans think abortion is morally acceptable. 40% believe it's morally wrong. And 8% say it depends on the situation.

"God knows us when we are being formed in the womb. He puts us together. He makes us who we are. We're all different from everybody else. But God knows exactly who we are,” said Rep. Kathy Rapp, a Republican from Warren County who is chair in the Pro-Life Caucus.