Former Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk to headline next month's March for Life

The organizers of the March For Life has announced that former NFL player Matt Birk will be one of the keynote speakers at the annual gathering of pro-life advocates in Washington D.C.

Birk, who had previously played for the Baltimore Ravens, caught the attention of other pro-life activists after he declined to meet President Barack Obama when his team won the Super Bowl in 2013, due to the former president's pro-abortion policies.

The former Baltimore Ravens center will be appearing along with his wife Adrianna at the March For Life next month to talk about their dedication to the pro-life movement.

Other featured speakers include Pam Tebow, the mother of former Heisman Trophy winner and New York Mets baseball player Tim Tebow; U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, a Democrat from Illinois; U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and Sister Bethany Madonna.

"Each of these speakers bear witness to this year's theme 'Love Saves Lives' in a unique and powerful way that is sure to resonate with the hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans from across the country who will be coming to march in defense of life this year," said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life.

"We look forward to hearing how love has empowered each speaker to create a culture of life within their individual communities and platforms," she added.

According to Life News, the March For Life will be taking place on Jan. 19, which is near the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

Hundreds of thousands of pro-life supporters from across the U.S. are expected to travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the upcoming event.

Birk, a Catholic and a staunch pro-life advocate, stated in 2013 that he refused to meet with Obama because he took offense to the former president's remarks about abortion.

"I have great respect for the office of the presidency, but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, 'God bless Planned Parenthood'" he said at the time.

"Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year. I am Catholic. I am active in the pro-life movement, and I just felt like I couldn't deal with that," he went on to say.

Birk's wife had volunteered at a pregnancy center that was opened by the godfather of one of their children. The center was located in St. Paul Minnesota across the street from a Planned Parenthood clinic, which eventually closed.

The football star was also one of the speakers at the 2016 March For Life. At the time, Birk said that grieving mothers recovering from abortion were the "real heroes" of the pro-life movement.

Birk, who earned a degree in economics from Harvard, had served as the director of football development from the NFL after he retired from playing football.