The theme of the 2026 March for Life is “Life Is a Gift.” Indeed, it’s a gift that’s bestowed lovingly by God himself upon every single human being he has created, in his own image and likeness. 

And it’s a gift that needs to be cherished and protected throughout the entirety of every human journey, from the moment of conception through the time of natural death.

Properly catechized Catholics already know this. Unfortunately, though, an ever-increasing percentage of Americans — including many Catholics, sadly — have lost sight of this profound truth. 

If that weren’t so, the evil of abortion would never have been legalized anywhere. There also wouldn’t be the concomitant drive to truncate the other end of human life, via the evil of legalized assisted suicide.

How can the U.S. pro-life movement help recapture a broader national reverence for the gift of life? Judicial victories alone can’t suffice, as pro-lifers have learned all too well in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision. Since then, even though abortion is no longer mandated nationally by a false interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, the total number of abortions has climbed, primarily due to largely unrestricted access to chemical abortions. 

Given this context, in jurisdictions where support for legalized abortion remains ascendant, the pro-life movement must search for creative ways to renew an understanding of the value of unborn life, to provide the foundation for subsequent legislative actions that protect unborn babies more directly. 

Puerto Rico is a case in point. There, even though most of the U.S. territory’s population is Catholic, abortion is currently available on demand throughout pregnancy and there is no immediate prospect of securing significantly stronger restrictions. 

Yet right in time for Christmas, Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón signed a bill into law that affirms the biological fact that life begins at conception and stipulates that Puerto Rico’s Code of Civil Law now recognizes the unborn as “natural persons.”

This law isn’t entirely unique among U.S. jurisdictions. A substantial number of states have already passed laws conferring varying degrees of legal recognition of the unborn. But as the República.com website noted:

“Puerto Rico has set itself apart by becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the nation to enact a law that explicitly recognizes a fetus as a living, natural person from the moment of conception, deserving dignity and inherent value equal to that of any other human being outside the womb.”

The new legislation has no effect on local abortion law; any change would require new legislation or judicial action. However, Puerto Rican pro-lifers are confident that over time, this pro-life seed will germinate into widespread recognition that abortion must be banned there. 

National Right to Life’s president, Carol Tobias, highlighted that Puerto Rico’s initiative also provides a “powerful example” for the rest of the nation that legal personhood “is the foundation upon which a culture of life can flourish.”

While abortion will remain the nation’s top pro-life priority for the foreseeable future, assisted suicide is another issue where the pro-life movement is currently struggling against strong headwinds. 

In December, Illinois became the 12th U.S. jurisdiction to legalize assisted suicide, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she plans to sign a similar law in January.

After Gov. JB Pritzker signed Illinois’ own legislation, Pope Leo XIV disclosed he had appealed for a veto of the bill when he met with the governor in November at the Vatican. Despite their shared Illinois roots, the Holy Father was unable to sway Pritzker away from his support for the bill. 

As this negative outcome demonstrates, assisted suicide is another matter where pro-lifers must witness that human life remains a gift in all circumstances. 

The dedicated participants in this year’s March for Life in Washington on Jan. 23 know this to be true. Once again, their joyful witness in the nation’s capital will share this truth with the country as a whole.