As we have been preparing for the 51st annual March for Life, and the second post-Roe anniversary, our organization has been reflecting on what ‘theme’ or message our culture most needs to hear right now. The false narrative around abortion – whether it be through mainstream media or the entertainment industry or academia — is that abortion is empowering, healthy, and necessary. Such a fear-based message convinces mothers facing an unexpected pregnancy that they are alone, incapable, and ill-equipped to handle motherhood. We disagree, and hold that choosing life is empowering, and that love saves lives!

Mother Teresa famously said that abortion is profoundly anti-woman: all of the mothers and half of the babies are women. I shudder at the number of lives lost – tens of millions – tragically taken by abortion. At the same time, I  am reminded of the heart-wrenching testimonies of mothers I’ve met who, in regret of such a choice, are now left to manage their pain and grief.

But for the pro-life movement, this darkness is not the final word. In fact, we know that when a woman is facing an unexpected pregnancy, she most needs to hear that ‘you can do this!’ and that ‘I will be there to help you!’

For decades, the pro-life movement has done just that – empowered and supported women – through a heroic network of over 3,400 community-based maternity homes and pregnancy resource centers around the nation that help women overcome fear, anxiety, poverty, addiction, abuse, and more, while showering mothers and babies with resources, love and a familial community that many have never experienced.

One such example is Gina Tomes, founder of the maternity home Bethlehem House in Omaha, Nebraska, who spoke at the 50th annual March for Life. The fruitfulness of Gina’s work with moms facing unexpected pregnancies amazed me. Bethlehem House has successfully broken cycles of brokenness, substance abuse, homelessness, and more in over 1,200 women, children, and families. Homes and centers like Gina’s do far more than merely help women embrace life. Most focus on providing the resources, love, and support necessary to help women, children and families live happy, successful lives.

Similarly, local pro-lifers often coordinate diaper or clothing drives or baby showers to benefit their local pregnancy care center. Maternity homes host regular joyful ‘family’ dinner nights where the mothers laugh and cook with their children and new friends. These organizations not only save lives, but they transform the lives they touch for generations. 

Shawnte Mallory, for example, was once a homeless expecting mother whose experience at Mary’s Shelter in Fredericksburg, VA, enabled her to choose life, achieve stable housing, and become a certified nursing assistant in addition to becoming a trauma counselor and a student of theology. Far from being the ‘exception,’ women like Shawnte are increasingly becoming the ‘rule’ thanks to the courageous, selfless work of pro-life advocates.

Consider also the inspiring stories of Danielle, Mikaela, Da’Chiron and Tammi, to Claire, Mary Pat, Kathleen, and so many others, which powerfully show that love truly does save lives. They also highlight the reality that the pro-life movement’s story is one of redemption, hope and joy. It’s a story of over 800,000 lives saved since 2016 alone. It’s a story where women lift up other women and empower each other to give back so that others also find hope and support when facing an unexpected pregnancy. 

Pregnancy Care Centers and Maternity Homes are the very backbone of our movement; the leaders and volunteers behind such centers heroically work to build a culture of life. The courage that inspired so many men and women to look beyond themselves in serving others will sustain our movement as we continue lovingly walking with women and providing them with real choices and hope for a better future.  

In light of these beautiful truths, the most fitting theme for the 2024 March for Life and the pro-life movement in this moment is ‘Pro-Life: With Every Woman, For Every Child.’ Our theme will serve as a compelling reminder of what the pro-life mission is all about – not just for our marchers, but also for those who oppose us, who I pray will one day join us in our work to build a culture of life and love.  

Very soon, on January 19, 2024, pro-life advocates from all over the nation and world will fill the National Mall and march for moms and babies through the streets of Washington D.C. I look forward to that day – when young marchers are brimming with excitement and joy, when the bagpipes, student cheers and prayers rise up once again announcing our presence, when the wind-pinched smiles of the old mingle with those of the young, when the laughter of children can be heard from block to block, and when the cheers of the crowds echo throughout our nation’s capital and across generations with a simple yet powerful message:

No woman is truly ever alone, because the pro-life movement is here walking with every woman, for every child.

The White House appears to be signaling that President Biden would accept a short-term spending plan to avert a government shutdown brought by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a top Biden ally, told reporters that he discussed Johnson’s proposal with administration officials hours before the House of Representatives is set to hold a vote on it. 

‘I think that we all want to avoid a shutdown. I’ve talked to the White House, and both of us agree, the White House and myself, that if this can avoid a shutdown, it will be a good thing,’ Schumer said at a Tuesday press conference. 

The messaging from Washington, D.C.’s top Democrats will likely embolden left-wing lawmakers to cross the aisle and support the proposal — which it will need, given the growing defections from the right wing of Johnson’s party.

Democrats are still wary of splitting up government funding deadlines, a move Schumer called ‘goofy’ on Tuesday.

But he claimed overall victories for his party, because ‘the proposal before the House does two things Democrats pushed for.’

‘One, not making the hard-right cuts that the MAGA wing demands. And second, making sure that if they’re going to do this sort of goofy ladder, that defense is in the second part of the ladder, not the first.’

Congressional leaders on both sides have acknowledged that they will need more time to put together fiscal year 2024 spending priorities, and so a short-term bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) is warranted. Lawmakers risk a partial government shutdown if nothing is done by this Friday.

Johnson’s new ‘laddered’ CR would set two different funding deadlines for Congress’ 12 individual appropriations bills — a Jan. 19 date for four of the less traditionally controversial bills and Feb. 2 for the others, including defense spending.

A House Democratic aide told Fox News Digital they anticipate a broad cross-section of their caucus voting for the CR. 

And the bill will need their votes to pass amid concerns that hardline right opposition could derail the CR in a procedural vote. House leaders are opting to rush it to the floor via a maneuver called suspension. 

But forgoing the preliminary vote means the CR will need approval from two-thirds of the House to pass, rather than a simple majority.

Several House conservatives are opposed to passing any CR, which does not cut spending or enact conservative policies, while others are pushing back on its year-long extensions of several key U.S. programs.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Sparks flew Tuesday as a senior Biden administration official clashed with a reporter over it allowing billions in unfrozen Iranian assets to return to the terror-funding nation.

The heated debate came during the State Department press briefing when agency spokesman Matthew Miller staunchly defended the decision to release the money back to the Iranian regime in the form of waivers, which the administration says can only be used for ‘humanitarian needs like food and medicine.’

The reporter noted that the money going to Iran for humanitarian reasons would free up billions the regime already had that it could put toward hostile activity across the Middle East, something Miller admitted had not changed for years.

‘I don’t accept that argument. What we believe is the Iranian regime is going to spend the same amount of money on destabilizing activities because it always has,’ Miller pushed back.

‘We will take actions to hold them accountable for those destabilizing activities, as we have from the beginning of this administration. What we have seen is that when these waivers have been issued, that money has been used for the benefit of the Iranian people, period,’ he added.

The reporter attempted to make the point again, that with the additional funding even if just for humanitarian purposes, Iran would be able to use money elsewhere as it desired.

Both then accused the other of making assumptions about Iran’s spending intentions and began talking over each other.

‘No, no. Let me finish. You are making the assumption when you say that the Iranian government is choosing the benefit of its people over funding terrorism and funding other destabilization. That’s not what we’ve seen,’ Miller said.

‘You’re making that assumption —,’ the reporter jumped in.

‘No, no, I’m not. I’ve seen them as a first priority fund destabilizing activities. We think increasing the amount of money that flows for the benefit of the Iranian people is something that’s worthwhile,’ Miller responded.

The reporter accused Miller of ‘twisting’ what he was saying, and stated that he wasn’t claiming that none of the unfrozen money would be used on food and medicine, to which Miller repeated that those were the only things the money could be spent on.

‘Yeah, but that means that they have X amount of dollars more in their own treasury that they can spend on destabilizing activities,’ the reporter hit back.

‘Only if you assume they were going to fund food and medicine and other activities. And I’m saying that’s not a necessarily correct assumption,’ Miller responded.

The two continued to go back and forth before Miller said he felt they were ‘arguing in circles.’

‘I don’t understand your argument that you can be so sure that none of this money is going to increase the amount of cash that Iran spends to destabilize the region,’ the reporter said, but Miller continued to repeat his point that Iran was already prioritizing spending on destabilizing activities over feeding its people.

The reporter appeared to eventually give up, saying, ‘All right. I just don’t understand how you can’t see the problem with this.’

‘And I don’t understand how you can’t — We don’t understand each other, I think,’ Miller responded, laughing.

A House Oversight Committee hearing turned into a contentious debate on Tuesday when Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky got into a heated exchange over personal finances.

‘The Chairman mentioned something,’ Moskowitz said during the hearing, referring to Comer who serves as chair of the committee. ‘He said the Biden administration can’t have it both ways. And I agree which is why I’m happy to yield you some of my time today.’

Moskowitz said he would yield time to Comer to explain why he has drawn attention to loans as part of an alleged corruption scheme within the Biden family while Comer has also allegedly lent a family member money, according to a recent report, which Comer has denied.

‘I would love it,’ Comer said, accepting the offer to have time yielded to him.

‘You retweeted that story, completely false, I’ve never loaned my brother one penny,’ Comer said, explaining that his dentist father owned farmland and Comer’s brother wanted to keep it in the family so Comer bought it from him.

Comer said another accusation in the reporting, that he owned a shell company, is ‘bulls****’ and that only ‘dumb and financially illiterate people’ believed the report.

‘I went to the bank and I borrowed money I bought that land,’ Comer said. ‘I didn’t get wires from Romania, China, my family doesn’t get wires…but you and Goldman who is ‘Mr. Trust Fund’ try to discredit.’

Moskowitz then interrupted and asked for his time back. 

‘No, I’m not going to give you your time back, Comer said. ‘We can stop the clock, you all continue to, you look like a smurf here just going around and all this stuff.’

The two then began talking over each other with Moskowitz asking for his time back and Comer accusing him of spreading ‘misinformation.’

‘You’ve have gone on TV and said something the president did is illegal, you’re doing stuff with your brother,’ Moskowitz shouted as Comer continued to speak.

‘You’re welcome to investigate anything you want to do,’ Comer said, while Moskowitz asked if there are different rules for Kentucky Republican and Biden.

‘We’re supposed to take your word for it, but when the president says something, he’s not telling the truth,’ Moskowitz said.

Comer then told Moskowitz that he’s ‘already been proven a liar’ to which Moskowitz replied, ‘By you? Your word means nothing.’

‘This seems to have gotten under your skin,’ Moskowitz said when Comer told him to go to his hometown if he wants proof that Comer’s finances are in order. 

‘I’ll pay for your ticket,’ Comer said.

Moskowitz then said Comer should sit for a deposition and Comer said he would be ‘happy’ to testify with the Biden family. 

‘We can go over our LLCs,’ Comer said. ‘Let’s do that.’

The two continued to go back and forth with Moskowitz saying that Comer ‘may’ have done wrong and Comer responding ‘but you tweeted that I did.’

Eventually, Moskowitz’s time ended and the hearing proceeded. 

‘Rep. Moskowitz continues to spew disinformation and is attempting to distract the American people from Biden family corruption,’ a Comer spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘Chairman Comer will not be deterred as he works to uncover the facts about President Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling schemes.’

‘The chairman needs a mental health day, so I have nothing further to add,’ Moskowitz said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday the behavior of lawmakers in the upper chamber is not his responsibility after he was questioned about his role in lowering the temperature of his party.

‘Very difficult to control the behavior of everybody who’s in the building,’ McConnell told reporters after the GOP conference’s weekly luncheon. ‘I don’t view that as my responsibility.’ 

He added, ‘That’s something that the Capitol Police have to deal with.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to Capitol Hill Police for comment. 

The senator’s comments come after Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., stood up and threatened to fight a labor leader during a Senate Health Committee hearing on Tuesday.

‘Sir, this is a time, this is a place, you want to run your mouth we can be two consenting adults and we can finish it here,’ Mullin told Teamster President Sean O’Brien during a Senate Health Committee hearing on Tuesday after reading a tweet where O’Brien said he could take the senator ‘any time’ or ‘any place.’

‘OK, that’s fine, perfect,’ O’Brien responded.

‘You want to do it now?’ Mullin asked.

‘I would love to do it right now,’ O’Brien said, prompting Mullin to say, ‘Well, stand your butt up then.’

‘You stand your butt up, big guy,’ O’Brien said, at which point Mullin, a former MMA fighter, stood up in his chair and seemed to be trying to make his way over to the union president.

‘Stop it, hold it, no, no, sit down,’ Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the committee, said in an attempt to calm the pair down. ‘You’re a United States senator. Sit down.’

Both Mullin and O’Brien asked permission from Sanders to respond to each other after Mullin sat down, but Sanders denied the request. 

Mullin and O’Brien have previously gone head-to-head, throwing jabs at each other through social media during the summer. 

‘Greedy CEO who pretends like he’s self made. In reality, just a clown [and] fraud,’ O’Brien wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on June 26. ‘Quit the tough guy act in these senate (sic) hearings.’

‘You know where to find me,’ he continued. ‘Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.’

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is calling for a House ethics investigation into former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for allegedly assaulting another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., in a U.S. Capitol hallway earlier Tuesday.

Burchett had accused McCarthy of having ‘elbowed [him] in the kidneys’ when walking past him along with his security detail at the end of a members-only House GOP Conference meeting. McCarthy said any contact they made was an accident. Burchett said it was ‘a cheap shot by a bully.’

‘Needless to say, this incident deserves immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee. This Congress has seen a substantial increase in breaches of decorum unlike anything we have seen since the pre-Civil War era,’ Gaetz wrote in a letter to House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, R-Miss.

‘I myself have been a victim of outrageous conduct on the House floor as well, but nothing like an open and public assault on a Member, committed by another Member. The rot starts at the top.’

Gaetz and Burchett were two of eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to oust McCarthy from the speakership last month. 

Burchett told reporters he believed McCarthy targeted him ‘100% on purpose,’ adding, ‘He didn’t see any cameras. He didn’t think anybody was paying attention. But [Claudia Grisales] from NPR was paying attention.’

Gaetz wrote in his ethics complaint that Burchett ‘is within his rights to decline to press charges against Rep. McCarthy.’

‘Given Rep. Burchett’s comments on the matter, and the statements of public witnesses, I request the House Committee on Ethics to proceed immediately with an investigation into the facts of today’s incident, including interviewing, under oath, the alleged assailant and assailee, and any witnesses,’ Gaetz wrote.

The Florida congressman, meanwhile, is the subject of his own probe by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of his funding.

Burchett told reporters earlier that he would not take any action against McCarthy. 

Asked about the incident later, McCarthy told the press, ‘I guess our elbows hit as I walked by. I didn’t punch anyone.’

Fox News’ Kelly Phares and Brianna O’Neill contributed to this report

The United States on Tuesday said it has imposed sanctions on a group of Hamas officials and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who work to transfer money from Iran to Gaza. A Lebanese money exchange service that facilitates the transfers has also been sanctioned. 

The sanctions are being coordinated with the United Kingdom and are aimed at protecting the international financial system from abuse by Hamas militants and their enablers, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday.

The sanctions block the targeted entities from accessing U.S. property and bank accounts while also preventing them from doing business with Americans.

The sanctions are the third set since the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that killed about 1,200 people with more than 240 people taken hostage. Previous sanctions were announced on Oct. 18 and Oct. 27 designating Hamas operatives and its financial facilitators.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said the sanctions will ensure the U.S. continues to deny Hamas its ability to raise and use funds to carry out attacks.

‘Hamas’ actions have caused immense suffering and shown that terrorism does not occur in isolation,’ Yellen said in a statement Tuesday.

‘Together with our partners we are decisively moving to degrade Hamas’s financial infrastructure, cut them off from outside funding, and block the new funding channels they seek to finance their heinous acts.’

According to the Treasury, Iran enables Hamas and PIJ’s terrorist activities primarily through its support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including through the transfer of funds and the provision of weapons and training. Iran has trained PIJ fighters to produce and develop missiles in Gaza while it has also funded groups that provide financial support to PIJ-affiliated fighters.

In response, the Treasury on Tuesday designated seven individuals who have provided support to Hamas or the PIJ, as well as two Lebanon-based money exchange companies. Nabil Chouman & Co. has helped facilitate the transfer of money from Iran to Gaza, and Reda Ali Khamis was involved in facilitating financial transfers from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to Hamas as well as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Treasury said. 

Additionally, two key Hamas officials, Mahmoud Khaled Zahhar and Mu’ad Ibrahim Muhammed Rashid al-Atili, have been designated for diplomatic sanctions.

The State Department is also designating Akram al-Ajouri for sanctions. Ajouri is the PIJ deputy secretary general and leader of its terrorist wing, the Al-Quds Brigade, the State Department said. 

The sanctions come as 400 government officials from 40 departments and agencies within President Biden’s administration signed a letter opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and demanded a cease-fire.

The measures also come a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a dire warning to America that it may be ‘next’ if the IDF doesn’t decimate Hamas.

‘If we don’t win now, then Europe is next and you’re next. And we have to win,’ Netanyahu said Monday during an interview with FOX News’ Sean Hannity. 

‘We have to win to protect Israel. We have to win to safeguard the Middle East. We have to win for the sake of the civilized world. That’s the battle we’re fighting, and it’s being waged right now. There is no substitute for that victory.’

Netanyahu also repeated his vow against a cease-fire without the release of the hostages, calling it a ‘surrender to Hamas’ if the Israeli captives aren’t returned safely. 

Turkey’s rhetoric and positions on the Israel-Hamas war have paved the way for closer ties with Iran, which both nations will explore as they seek to resolve long-standing issues. 

‘Compartmentalization has long been the name of the game for the Iran-Turkey relationship under the Islamic Republic and AKP, respectively,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan is the chairman of the AKP political party.

‘While traditionally the two non-Arab Muslim Middle Eastern powers have competed as to who can champion the Palestinian street, the post-Arab Spring Middle Eastern order has led to more opportunities for a NATO member and the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism to channel their political ire and more at Israel,’ Taleblu said. 

Turkey has found itself at odds with its NATO allies, most of whom have backed Israel’s right to defend itself following the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, while Turkey has echoed the stances of other Middle Eastern nations in questioning Israel and defending the Palestinians.

Erdogan took things a step further and defended the Hamas terrorists who carried out the attack, calling the group a ‘mujahideen,’ or freedom fighters, ‘defending their lands.’ He has also continued to push for a ceasefire, accusing the West of being ‘too weak’ to call for one — a stance that seems common among the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members. 

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat condemned Erdogan’s rhetoric as ‘harsh words’ about a ‘terrorist organization,’ the Times of Israel reported. 

That more hardline stance has endeared Ankara to Tehran, prompting the two nations to explore a rapprochement, or resumption of harmonious relations. They previously attempted a similar engagement in 2009 after Erdogan lambasted Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Davos conference and in 2010 again after an incident with Israel, according to Al-Monitor. 

‘Along with Qatar, Russia, and the U.N., Turkey was a prime target of Iranian diplomatic overtures following the deadly terrors attacks that Tehran helped underwrite on Oct. 7,’ Taleblu said. ‘The more shocks between Turkey and Israel and the Western bloc, the more confident Tehran feels about the ascendency of its regional message.’

The Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

Turkey has maintained a nebulous role in the conflict, first due to its membership in NATO and ties to the United States against its support of Hamas. At the same time, Ankara asked Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to leave Istanbul following the Oct. 7 attack over fears of looking like a supporter of terrorism. 

Turkey has remained in conversation with Haniyeh as well as Israel, Al-Monitor reported. 

In his speech before the Turkish parliament last month, Erdogan also slammed Western powers for supporting Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, which the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claimed has taken the lives of over 11,000 Palestinians. 

The Biden administration has repeatedly cast doubts on those numbers, and critics have noted that the ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. Stephan Dujarric, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told Fox News Digital that the U.N. has found the ministry’s numbers ‘reliable’ in the past.

Dujarric acknowledged that the U.N. will only have a chance to verify the numbers after the conflict ends, though, he stressed that the number will likely remain very high. He did not comment on the lack of distinction between civilian and combatant deaths. 

Reuters contributed to this report.