The annual March for Life will go on as planned this year but pro-life groups are making adjustments to their planned activities due to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s vaccine mandate, reports the Christian Post.
The 49th annual March for Life is scheduled to take place on Jan. 21, six days after a vaccine mandate is set to take effect in Washington, D.C., where the march is held. The mandate will require those seeking to enter “restaurants, bars and nightclub establishments,” “indoor entertainment establishments,” “indoor exercise and recreational establishments” and “indoor event and meeting establishments” to provide proof of having received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine beginning Jan. 15.
This year’s March for Life comes as the Supreme Court is scheduled to make a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health that could return power back to the states to decide how they want to regulate abortion. The March for Life, the organization that spearheads the annual pro-life rally, announced that it will proceed as scheduled while elaborating on how the vaccine mandate might impact attendees’ availability to participate in the festivities.
“The 49th annual March for Life on Jan. 21, in Washington, D.C., will proceed as planned with a kick-off concert by Matthew West at 11 a.m. followed by the rally at Noon and the march to the Supreme Court at 1:15 p.m.,” said March for Life President Jeanne Mancini in a statement Wednesday. “While the March for Life itself is not affected, our indoor events will have a few modifications due to the District of Columbia’s current Covid regulations.”
The Renaissance D.C. Downtown Hotel, the site of the post-March for Life Rose Dinner and the pre-March for Life Capitol Hill 101 session, will require all participants “ages 12 and older to provide either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test (within 24 hours of the event) accompanied by either an oral or written religious exemption or a written medical exemption.” The Rose Dinner will take place on the evening of Jan. 21, while Capitol Hill 101 will take place on the morning of Jan. 20.
While the Renaissance will require participants in the Rose Dinner and Capitol Hill 101 to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, a frequently asked questions page published on the March for Life website notes that “guests do not need to be vaccinated or to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test to stay overnight at the hotel.” The pro-life organization reported that under the D.C. vaccine mandate, “those 12 years and older must provide proof of identification and proof of receiving one COVID shot by Jan. 15.”
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