Georgetown University Right to Life (RTL), an anti-abortion advocacy club, will lead the national March for Life, the largest annual anti-abortion rally in the United States, in January.
RTL members will hold the banner at the front of the march and RTL’s president will speak at the following rally. Each year, the March for Life selects a student group to lead the march, and past groups included students from other Catholic universities, including Notre Dame and Christendom College.
Georgetown RTL has previously participated in the march, but this year marks its first time leading it.
Matteo Caulfield (CAS ʼ23), former RTL vice president, said he sees the invitation to lead the national march as recognition of RTL’s advocacy.
“It’s a huge honor that Georgetown Right to Life would be invited to participate in the march as it is going to this year,” Caulfield told The Hoya. “It’s really a testament to the hard work and determination of pro-life Right to Life and Catholic students over the course of many decades that our work, despite being a small group on campus, would get national recognition this way.”
The March for Life, which attracts thousands of people from across the country annually, advocates for the end of abortion access across the United States. The protest began in 1974, one year after the Supreme Court enshrined the right to abortion, but continued after the court overturned its ruling in 2022.
The march’s 2026 theme is “Life is a Gift,” which organizers said focuses on upholding the dignity of human life. The march will also focus on how the anti-abortion movement can evolve after the constitutional right to abortion was abolished. The 27th annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life (OCC), the largest student-led anti-abortion conference in the United States, will take place at Georgetown the next day, Jan. 24.
Elizabeth Oliver (CAS ’26), RTL president, said she believes RTL’s participation in the march demonstrates campus support for anti-abortion students.
“It is national news, the fact that Georgetown, a school that some people don’t necessarily think of as pro-life, is leading the march,” Oliver told The Hoya. “And I think that’s a great reminder to show people that there is still a very strong pro-life presence here at Georgetown, a Jesuit Catholic University, and that the pro-life club is supported.”
Dean Rosamilia (CAS ’27), RTL’s current vice president, said he was excited to represent the Georgetown community at the March for Life and credited Oliver with coordinating with the march organizers.
“This is such a huge opportunity for Right to Life because in the 50-plus years that the march has been going on, Georgetown’s never led the march,” Rosamilia told The Hoya. “So, to have this privilege and honor to do so is just such a big deal for the club.”
“Elizabeth was able to speak to the president of the march, and she did a great job conveying all of the things that we do as a club, and she was able to get this deal,” Rosamilia added.
In the lead-up to the march, RTL will garner momentum by canvassing, encouraging Georgetown students to attend and reaching out to graduates of the organization.
Katie Liberatore (CAS ’28), RTL’s social chair, said RTL is proud to increase its stature on anti-abortion advocacy nationally amid increasing political controversy surrounding abortion.
“We understand that it’s a controversial topic, but we’re there, ready to proclaim the truth,” Liberatore told The Hoya. “We’re not afraid to take a stance, and we think it’s our purpose and intention to go out and just show that we’re here together as a cohort of students at this university who care about protecting life.”
Abortion is banned in 12 states and partially restricted in 29 as of Sept. 2, according to the nonprofit research group KFF. Abortion access was a major campaign issue in the 2024 presidential election, and surveys suggest 63% of the United States public supports the legal right to abortion in all or most cases.
Rosamilia said abortion is an important political issue to many students, especially given Georgetown’s location in Washington, D.C., and being in the march will show student perspective on the issue.
“Given that we’re in such a political city, it just makes sense that a lot of people have very strong opinions on political matters, especially this one,” Rosamilia said. “So, to be able to show not only Georgetown, but the rest of D.C., really the whole country, that Georgetown is a pro-life university is great.”
As a Catholic institution, Georgetown does not support access to abortion or prescriptions for solely contraceptive care through the Student Health Center or MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, in accordance with guidance for Catholic health services.
Ava Lewis (CAS ʼ28) — who tables for H*yas for Choice, a student organization that advocates for reproductive rights and abortion rights — said RTL does not accurately represent the Georgetown community since many students favor abortion rights.
“I think most Georgetown students are pretty progressive, and I think they do support women’s rights and women’s reproductive health, and so I thought it was just a little disappointing that they would represent Georgetown in that way at such a national pro-life march,” Lewis told The Hoya.
Gabriella Bautista Bolvito (CAS ’29) said RTL members share the goal of supporting women with students who do not support the RTL organization or its central role in the March for Life.
“I believe Georgetown Right to Life in general would love to engage in more discourse with them just so that we can understand that we’re all humans,” Bautista Bolvito told The Hoya. “I think our end goals are the same: to support women, to support people. We need to understand that we might have a different means to get there, but we overall have that same vision and that same goal and that should be more unifying than anything.”
Oliver said the belief in the dignity of all human life is an important value among RTL members, which she hopes leading the march will show.
“We believe every human person has equal dignity and has an equal right to life, and ultimately those are values that are protected and have always been protected in our nation,” Oliver said. “And so to help people recognize the dignity of every human life, we’re excited to share that message.”