Thousands of abortion opponents gathered in Washington on Friday for the annual March for Life, celebrating the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that struck down the Roe v. Wade that had protected abortion rights nationwide.

Despite finally achieving the chief goal they set when the march began in 1974, those on stage and in the crowd said their work is not done. Instead of marching directly from the National Mall to the Supreme Court, the crowd also passed by the U.S. Capitol, symbolizing their new aim to keep pressure on lawmakers to pass anti-abortion legislation.

The march came two days before the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which is being marked by people on both sides of the debate.

“Boy, did we get a huge victory just a few months ago when Roe was overturned,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during Friday’s rally. “But as you all know, that's only the end of the first phase of this battle. The next phase now begins.”

Scalise touted House Republicans for passing a bill last week, just days after they retook the majority in the chamber, that would require health care providers try to save the life of an infant born alive after a failed abortion. 

“That's what difference elections make,” Scalise said. “It's why you get involved.”

Opponents of the bill say is unnecessary because a 2002 law already protects the rights of infants born after an attempted abortion and that the proposed law would further restrict abortion access by threatening physicians with fines and prison sentences. 

The legislation is not expected to be taken up in Democratic-controlled Senate.

Anti-abortion advocates have experienced some setbacks since the Supreme Court’s ruling in May, including ballot initiatives that did not go their way in Kansas, Kentucky and California, and the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to expand the availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies and mail-order companies.

Former NFL head coach Tony Dungy and his wife, Lauren, also spoke at Friday’s rally. Lauren Dungy told the crowd the story about how the couple adopted eight children. 

“I can tell you I am so grateful for these birth moms who chose life rather than abortions,” she said. “They’ll never know what a blessing it is to have these children in our lives.”

Abortion rights advocates and the Biden administration are also speaking out to mark the Roe anniversary.

This year’s National Women’s March will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, Sunday — the anniversary — with sister “Bigger Than Roe” marches being held around the country over the weekend, including in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.

“We are not going gently,” the Women’s March website says. “We are taking our fight to every state and every legislator in this country.”

The organizers explained they’re targeting Wisconsin, which has an abortion ban, because there is a primary election for state Supreme Court on Feb. 21. They’re hoping the state will lose its conservative majority, potentially leading to the ban’s end.

Biden on Friday issued a proclamation for Roe’s anniversary. He said the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the ruling stripped Americans of a fundamental right, put the health and lives of women across the country at risk and opened the door for challenges to other freedoms, including contraception and the right to marry whom you love.

The president called on Congress to pass laws to codify abortion rights and vowed in the meantime to use his executive power to protect women and families.

“I call upon Americans to honor generations of advocates who have fought for reproductive freedom, to recognize the countless women whose lives and futures have been saved and shaped by the Roe v. Wade decision, and to march forward with purpose as we work together to restore the right to choose,” Biden said in the proclamation.

On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Tallahassee, Florida, and deliver a speech about abortion rights. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, she is expected to focus on state-level fights over the issue.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spent Friday in the Milwaukee area visiting a family planning clinic that lost the right to provide abortions when the state’s ban took effect and holding a roundtable on reproductive health.

On Thursday, Becerra was in Minnesota, where he visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul and then appeared at a news conference with Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic legislative leaders. A few hours later, the Minnesota House passed a bill to codify abortion rights. 

“You’re going to make history at a time when it seems like regression seems to be more on the table than anything else,” Becerra said. “It is a good day to be in Minnesota.”