AUSTIN, Texas —

       The nation’s largest annual anti-abortion rally returns Friday with thousands of expected protesters in Washington who now feel within reach of their goal of the last 49 years: a sweeping rollback of abortion rights.

       “My hopes have been dashed many times, but I have never felt like this,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.

       The March for Life comes as the Supreme Court has indicated that it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion with a ruling in the coming months — and that it could possibly overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.

       The rally, held on the anniversary of that ruling, is taking place amid a coronavirus surge that is expected to limit turnout on the National Mall. Some abortion opponents posted on the event’s Facebook page that they would not attend because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for people going to restaurants and other places in the nation’s capital.

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       The pandemic has not dampened the optimism of a resurgent anti-abortion movement that sees a new Texas law banning most abortions as a sign of things to come and that says it’s not done fighting for restrictions even if the Supreme Court’s conservative majority issues a ruling favorable to its cause later this year.

       At least 26 states are in line to further limit abortion access if Roe is weakened or overturned, according to abortion-rights groups. In December, the high court indicated in a major case that it would uphold a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and allow states to ban abortion even earlier. The Mississippi case directly challenges the Roe ruling.

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       West Virginia lawmakers introduce a 15-week abortion ban

       West Virginia lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks — a proposal that’s nearly identical to the Mississippi law currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

       Tanya Britton, a former president of Pro-Life Mississippi, said she would attend a candlelight vigil this weekend in the northern Mississippi city of Tupelo, where she lives. She said if the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, she would want the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions to be amended to ban abortion. Such a massive undertaking would take years and would likely face stiff opposition in many places.

       Britton said abortion opponents already provide spiritual and material help to pregnant women, and society needs to help men feel connected to their children.

       “Many men have decided, ‘Well, it’s your body, it’s your choice, and I’m out of here,’” Britton said. “We have got to help them to understand their role and responsibilities when it comes to the pre-born child and then the child when it is here.”

       For months, courts have dealt Texas abortion providers a string of defeats over efforts to block a law that since September has banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks and before some women even know they are pregnant. Another loss for Texas clinics came Thursday, when the Supreme Court refused to speed up the ongoing challenge over the law, which providers say is now likely to stay in effect for the foreseeable future.

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       California lawmakers prepare to protect abortion access, starting with eliminating copays

       In the upcoming session, California legislators hope to push forward Senate Bill 245, which would put an end to out-of-pocket costs paid by those seeking abortions.

       “This law is cruel and unconstitutional, and I am deeply disappointed that our judicial system has done very little to stop it,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates four abortion clinics in Texas.

       The Supreme Court was remade by three nominees of former President Trump, who in 2020 became the first sitting president to address the March for Life.

       Democrats and abortion providers say that if Roe is toppled, they expect opponents to step up restrictions on access to abortion medication by mail.

       “In terms of what the Republicans are planning, I wouldn’t put anything off the table. There is almost an excitement, a kind of giddiness within them,” Arizona Democratic state Sen. Rebecca Rios said.

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       Mississippi state Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Republican who pushed for the state’s strict abortion laws, said he was not able to attend Friday’s March for Life in Washington but was pleased that he and two GOP colleagues would be recognized there. Mississippi has just one abortion clinic, and Fillingane said the state should next target access to abortion-inducing medication.

       If Roe were nullified, Fillingane said he expected states to take different approaches to setting their own abortion laws.

       “I think that’s the way it should be,” he said. “The laws in California, based on their population and what they want, may be very different than the laws in Mississippi based on what our population feels about the issue of life.”