Hundreds gathered in Richmond Wednesday for the annual March for Life. The event included a speech from Virginia’s likely GOP gubernatorial candidate.
The annual March for Life aims to “promote the beauty and dignity of every human life by working to end abortion.” Lt. Gov. and one of several Republican gubernatorial hopefuls Winsome Earle-Sears spoke to the crowd as the event began.
“We stand for life. And how can it ever be wrong to stand for life?” Earle-Sears said to the crowd.
She shared biblical stories and prayers during her short appearance. Absent from her speech were specific policy positions on abortion, nor did she comment on a pending constitutional amendment that would guarantee abortion access.
But Victoria Cobb with the Family Foundation of Virginia, which organizes the March for Life in the Commonwealth, said those who oppose abortion can count on Sears to represent them in the Governor’s Mansion.
“Certainly, we’ve seen where states have had governors that have leaned into this, that they’ve had success," Cobb told Radio IQ ahead of the event's titular march. "It’s really a question of who's going to be leading our state when the time arrives to bring this to the ballot or block it.”
But Democrats like Delegate Candi Mundon King of Northern Virginia think Virginians favor abortion access.
“Healthcare, abortion and otherwise, should be between a woman and their doctor," Mundon King told Radio IQ. "And the fact that she’s showing up with such an extreme crowd shows just how harmful she would be.”
Virginias’ abortion constitutional amendment must pass the legislature a second time in 2026 before it would go to voters in a referendum.
Two other potential Republican candidates, Dave LaRock and Amanda Chase, also attended the march. LaRock and Chase have yet to submit signatures to get on the June primary ballot.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
