Ahead of the 2025 National March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are leading an effort to ensure that the First Amendment rights of pro-life Americans are respected while they visit our nation’s capital.
During the 2023 March for Life, individuals identifying as pro-life – including students and children – faced harassment and discrimination from Smithsonian Institution employees and security officers at the National Archives Museum.
Ahead of this year’s March for Life, Senators Young and Cruz wrote to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the Archivist of the United States asking for assurances that similar conduct will not occur again.
In 2023, a group of students from South Carolina was mocked and expelled by Smithsonian Institution employees for wearing pro-life and human-rights-affirming apparel at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The victims of this harassment received justice via a settlement in March of 2024.
In a letter to Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Senators Young and Cruz requested a commitment from the Institution to adhere to the Constitution and the settlement requirements to prevent this situation from happening again. The full text of the letter from the senators to the Smithsonian Institution can be found here.
Additionally, during the 2023 March for Life, a group of pro-life individuals from Illinois were told to cover or remove their pro-life attire at the National Archives Museum by security officers employed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In February 2023, NARA settled a civil case with the individuals. As part of the lawsuit, NARA was “enjoined from prohibiting visitors from wearing t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc., that display protest language, including religious and political speech.” However, this preliminary injunction expired on January 19, 2025, less than one week before the 2025 March for Life.
In a letter to Dr. Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the United States, Senators Young and Cruz expressed concern that NARA may interpret the expiration of the February 2023 settlement’s preliminary injunction as an invitation to return to its 2023 conduct. Young and Cruz requested a commitment from NARA to ensure all NARA personnel will respect the First Amendment rights of their visitors, including pro-life Americans. The text of the letter to the Archivist can be found here.
Read more about the senators’ efforts to protect the First Amendment rights of pro-life Americans here.
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