Students, families and pro-life advocates gathered at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Maryland State Capitol on April 6 for the Maryland March for Life, an evening of prayer, speeches and public witness centered on the dignity of human life and the direction of state policy.
The event opened on the grounds of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and High School with a youth rally and fellowship, followed by Mass and a non-denominational worship service. Participants then marched through downtown Annapolis to Lawyer’s Mall for a rally outside the State Capitol before returning to the parish for a closing reception.
Clergy, national leaders, policy advocates and local participants took part in the program, reflecting both longstanding involvement in the movement and what speakers described as growing engagement among younger generations.
The youth rally featured speakers including Father Michael Herlihey, a Capuchin Franciscan priest serving youth and individuals struggling with addiction in Philadelphia, and Liz Mooney, who has a fellowship as a student leader with Students for Life of America.
Lydia Taylor Davis, spokesperson and social media coordinator for Students for Life of America, addressed the role of young people in the movement, pointing to what she described as increasing engagement among Generation Z.
Davis referenced her online advocacy work, including widely viewed videos in which she contacted abortion facilities while posing as a patient seeking a late-term abortion.
“Two years ago, you may remember seeing a viral video where I called a Maryland abortion facility undercover, posing as a woman 34 weeks pregnant,” she said.
The video, she said, drew tens of millions of views and was part of an effort to raise awareness about abortion practices.
“This video was seen by over 50 million people,” Davis said. “And yet the doors of that facility are still open in Maryland.”
“Young people are seeking truth,” she added. “Gen Z is searching for something real.”
Davis described that interest as part of a broader cultural shift.
“There is a revival happening,” she said.
Her remarks focused on connecting issues of justice and human rights to the protection of unborn life while challenging what she described as misconceptions about abortion among young people.
“Gen Z cares deeply about justice, freedom, and human rights,” she said. “The problem is they are being told a lie, that abortion equals women’s rights.”
She encouraged students to remain active in shaping culture and public conversation.
During Mass at St. Mary’s, Bishop Joseph Coffey, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, reflected on the meaning of Easter and its connection to the pro-life movement.
“Every day in this season is Easter,” he said, emphasizing that the Church celebrates Christ’s resurrection throughout the Easter season.
Drawing from the Gospel account of the women at the tomb, Bishop Coffey said they expected to encounter death but instead found the risen Christ and were sent forward.
“Every Easter, Jesus invites us to do the same: to move forward, to leave behind anything that holds us back, to roll away the stone that traps us, and to look forward with confidence,” he said.
He acknowledged that some who had once been active in the movement had grown discouraged over time.
“Perhaps they became discouraged. Perhaps they grew weary,” he said.
But he urged those gathered to remain committed, emphasizing the Church’s teaching on the dignity of every human life.
“The unborn have no one to speak for them except us. They are the most defenseless,” Bishop Coffey said. “We care about all life, from the unborn child to the elderly, to every person, because every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Every life is sacred and worthy of protection.”
“Do not grow weary. Do not lose courage,” he added.
At Lawyer’s Mall, speakers addressed legislative efforts and broader cultural concerns.
Jonathan Alexandre, legislative counsel for the Maryland Family Institute, focused on policy debates in the 2026 Maryland legislative session.
“This is not the time to be neutral,” he said. “This is the time to say: yes, we are Marylanders, and yes, we are pro-life.”
He highlighted several bills he said would expand protections for unborn children and increase transparency, while criticizing others he said would expand abortion access and reduce accountability.
“We are in this fight to stand for truth,” Alexandre said. “We are in this fight to stand for babies.”
Hayden Sledge, chief of staff for March for Life, pointed to what she described as growing momentum among young people.
“Our voices, raised together, are so powerful, especially in this Dobbs era,” she said. “Our political and cultural leaders take notice of events like this one.”
Sledge cited polling she said showed increased identification with pro-life views among young adults and declining support for abortion in all circumstances.
“There is real momentum for life here,” she said. “We must continue to walk and speak truth boldly.”
She also highlighted the role of pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes as sources of support for women and families.
“There are nearly 3,000 pregnancy resource centers and 400 maternity homes nationwide,” she said. “They provide resources and support to women, children and families across this country.”
“Be ready to point a pregnant woman to those centers,” she added.
Angela Murray, director of outreach and operations for Wellspring Life Ministry, which has served central Maryland since 1982, spoke about efforts to support women and families facing unexpected pregnancies.
“We are not just called by God to stand against something. We are called to stand for someone,” Murray said.
“Our local women’s clinics are the emergency rooms of our movement,” she added, urging attendees to offer their time and resources.
“That child deserves a birthday,” she said.
The rally also featured keynote speaker Mayra Rodriguez, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who later became a whistleblower and won a 2019 wrongful termination lawsuit after reporting safety concerns during her 17 years with the organization.
“I am not speaking from opinion. I’m speaking from experience,” Rodriguez said.
For nearly two decades, she said, she believed in the work she was doing, even bringing her own family into that worldview.
“I used to chant, ‘My body, my choice,’” she said. “And I didn’t just say it — I trained my own daughter to say it too.”
Rodriguez said her role included outreach in minority communities.
“Looking back now, I can say this: I was being used … to make it feel like the only option, and to make them feel they were alone,” she said.
“The abortion industry does not survive on medicine alone. It survives on messaging,” Rodriguez said, adding that “reality was changed” and “consequences and complications were minimized.”
She said her perspective shifted through her work and the witness of people praying outside abortion facilities.
“What changed me was not politics. It was reality — and prayers,” she said. “For 17 years, people stood outside … praying, and they never gave up on me.”
Rodriguez described what she said were the realities of abortion procedures and their impact on women.
“It is easy to promote abortion when you don’t have to deal with the reality of it,” she said.
“We are told abortion is healthcare. But healthcare heals and protects life, abortion ends it. And yes, it is very profitable.It is a business.It has always been about numbers.It was never about care. It was never about women. It has always been about control.” she added.
“If we are going to speak the truth, we must also live the truth,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t just argue, we walk with people.”
“Because they don’t have a voice … but they have mine, and they have yours,” she added.
Participants said their reasons for attending reflected a range of experiences but a shared commitment to defending life.
Charlotte Perrottet, an 11th-grade student from Brookewood School in Kensington, Maryland, said she marched “for the 56 million babies that have died since Roe v. Wade was passed … and, you know, to help the movement.”
Joseph Hermosillo, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Frederick, Maryland, attended with his children.
“These are number five and number six,” he said, gesturing to two in a stroller.
“We’re pro-life all the way, from conception to death,” he said. “And also against the death penalty, against euthanasia.”
He also emphasized the role of fathers.
“It’s the manliest thing you can do, to protect the unborn, the innocents, your children, someone else’s children,” Hermosillo said.
Leah Sours, who attended after plans with her church, Lexington Park Baptist in Lexington Park, Maryland, changed, said she came “just for the lives of children that I think are very important.”
As participants gathered outside the State Capitol and later returned to St. Mary’s, speakers emphasized continued engagement beyond the event.
Alexandre urged attendees to remain active in advocacy efforts at the state level.
“We will not be silent,” he said. “We will continue to call. We will continue to email. We will continue to testify. We will continue to vote.”
He framed the effort as both immediate and ongoing.
“Until Maryland becomes a place where every mother is supported, and every child is welcomed,” Alexandre said, “where every life is cherished and protected under the law.”
