People all over the world support the right to life and participate in public pro-life events like the March for Life.
Click a pin for details. Zoom with mouse wheel or pinch gesture.
officially confirmed
projected from pattern
Confirmed = date announced by organisers or bishops' conference.
Projected = date computed from stable annual pattern (e.g. „3rd Saturday of September"). Always verify officially before travelling.
No marches match your selection.
The March for Life is a global movement that publicly advocates for the protection of human life from conception to natural death. It all began on January 22, 1974, in Washington, D.C., one year after the Roe v. Wade ruling, which effectively legalized abortion in the U.S. up until the point of child viability (approximately the 22nd week of pregnancy). What started with around 20,000 participants has grown to hundreds of thousands who march to the Capitol on the National Mall every year.
In Europe, the first national demonstrations for the right to life followed after the turn of the millennium: Rome (2005) in response to Italy's Abortion Law 194/78, Berlin (2002, annually since 2008), initially under the name “1,000 Crosses for Life” and later “March for Life,” and Brussels (2010) on the 20th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in Belgium. Today, there is a national March for Life in every major European capital — from Lisbon to Bucharest, from Helsinki to Valletta.
The largest demonstrations take place in Latin America, in Lima, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá — some attracting hundreds of thousands of participants. In Asia (Chennai and Manila), the Marches for Life are smaller but gaining visibility; in Africa, these pro-life demonstrations are still in their infancy.
The Federal Association for the Right to Life (BVL) has been responsible for these major demonstrations in Germany since 2002 and typically organizes the March for Life on the third Saturday in September in Berlin and Cologne (a parallel venue since 2023). It reached its highest attendance in 2019 with over 9,000 people; on average, 7,000 to 8,000 people currently participate at both locations. The issues the BVL addresses professionally throughout the year range from pregnancy conflict and abortion, prenatal testing methods of no benefit to those affected (NIPT, PGD), and the instrumentalization of children and mothers (“surrogacy,” egg donation) to organ donation, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. At the March for Life, these issues are brought to the forefront in a human, vivid, and respectful manner.
This map is a project of the BVL aimed at fostering international networking — it lists all known events worldwide and is intended to contribute to further networking, planning, and mutual support. The Marches for Life listed here are sponsored and organized by national and regional organizers, who are responsible for their content and structure. Please report any errors or missing events to info@bv-lebensrecht.de.
We welcome notes on additional Marches for Life worldwide. Please write to info@bv-lebensrecht.de — with date, city, organiser and, if possible, a link to the official site.
