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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPresident Donald Trump vowed to support anti-abortion-rights protesters in his second term as tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Washington on Friday for the annual March for Life.\u201cWe will again stand proudly for families and for life,\u201d Trump declared in a pre-recorded video address.Protesters had come to the capital for decades to call for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which affirmed a constitutional right to an abortion. Now, with the repeal of Roe in 2022, they are now on the inside rather than the outside. With Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, the activists want to build on their victories.\u201cOur country faces the return of the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes,” Vice President JD Vance told the crowd in his in-person speech.Vance hailed Trump\u2019s previous actions on abortion, saying the president \u201cdelivered on his promise of ending Roe” and appointed hundreds of anti-abortion judges.Abortion was largely absent from the stack of dozens of executive actions in Trump\u2019s first days of office. But he has already made quieter moves on abortion, including pardoning several right to life activists and using wording related to fetal personhood in an executive order rolling back protections for transgender people.House Speaker Mike Johnson celebrated these moves as evidence \u201cthis new White House is already showing its resolve.\u201d\u201cIt is a new golden age for America,\u201d Johnson told the crowd.Despite frigid weather, a festive atmosphere surrounded the event as activists showed up with multicolored hats and signs declaring \u201cLife is our revolution\u201d and \u201cMAGA: Make Abortion Gone Again.\u201d\u201cThis is a significant moment in history,\u201d said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group. \u201cYes, we have a march every year but this one is pretty special. We have just been through the first presidential election since the Dobbs decision. There is a trifecta of pro-life Republicans in the White House and the House and the Senate.\u201dKristen Cooper, 21, was among several thousand Students for Life America members attending. She said she was especially excited to be at the march with \u201cpro-life Republicans\u201d in the White House.She said this march was her fourth but the first with a Republican administration. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal, actually.\u201dAnna Henderson, a teacher at a Catholic high school near Jackson, Michigan, was also attending her fourth march with a busload of her students.\u201cJust because we have the backing of the administration doesn\u2019t mean the fight is over,\u201d she said. \u201cWe still need to change people\u2019s hearts.\u201dThe march has been held annually since 1974. It comes after the president pardoned several activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said there is still work to be done, despite the Supreme Court decision. \u201cThere\u2019s no silver bullet to ending abortion,\u201d she said. \u201cThe march now ends on the backside of the U.S. Capitol to remind our representatives that abortion is not only a state issue, but also a local issue and also a federal issue.\u201dHawkins added that she\u2019d like to see Trump defund Planned Parenthood and more focus on making sure women with unplanned pregnancies have the resources to have the child, such as paid family leave and expanded child tax care credit.Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which supports abortion rights, said: \u201cWe know exactly what is at risk and we know the hate and lies they will spew at the March for Life.”The battle over abortion since the 2022 decision, has been in state courts and at the ballot box where voters in seven states approved ballot measures for constitutional amendments on reproductive freedom in November and more states could see ballot measures in coming years.Legislatures have been fighting back already with proposals that could make such measures more difficult to get passed.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the 2024 defeat of an abortion rights amendment on the March for Life stage and boasted about his role in the state-funded campaign against the measure. Voters there supported a state constitutional amendment overturning the ban but Florida requires 60% to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority.\u201cMost elected officials will say \u2018Look, what\u2019s on the ballot is not their issue \u2014 the people can decide,'” DeSantis told the crowd. \u201cAnd they wash their hands of it and walk away.\u201d He added: “We were not just going to sit around in Florida and do nothing.\u201dJennie Bradley Lichter, the March for Life president-elect, said in addition to Friday\u2019s march the group plans to be at 17 state capitals across the country in 2025. She said, in an email answer to questions, that the march continues because it provides energy for the movement and signals that the issue of protecting unborn children is not resolved.Supporters of abortion rights spoke up, too.”No matter what they said on the campaign trail to win an election, this shows their intentions to continue to attack abortion access,\u201d Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations for the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said of abortion-rights opponents.\u201cEach time one of these has taken place since the Dobbs decision, it\u2019s been a day to reflect on how much damage that\u2019s been caused by that decision and the crisis we continue to live in.\u201dEllie Smeal, president and founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said her group wojld counterprotest.\u201cWe want to remind people of the popularity of abortion rights and the importance of this issue, that women and men are supportive of people making their own reproductive health decisions,\u201d she said.The march brings to a close a tumultuous week of protest marches, celebrations of Trump\u2019s inauguration and executive actions by the president, including stopping diversity efforts in the federal government.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump vowed to support anti-abortion-rights protesters in his second term as tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Washington on Friday for the annual March for Life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will again stand proudly for families and for life,\u201d Trump declared in a pre-recorded video address.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Protesters had come to the capital for decades to call for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which affirmed a constitutional right to an abortion. Now, with the repeal of Roe in 2022, they are now on the inside rather than the outside. With Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, the activists want to build on their victories.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur country faces the return of the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes,” Vice President JD Vance told the crowd in his in-person speech.<\/p>\n
Vance hailed Trump\u2019s previous actions on abortion, saying the president \u201cdelivered on his promise of ending Roe” and appointed hundreds of anti-abortion judges.<\/p>\n
Abortion was largely absent from the stack of dozens of executive actions in Trump\u2019s first days of office. But he has already made quieter moves on abortion, including pardoning several right to life activists and using wording related to fetal personhood in an executive order rolling back protections for transgender people.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Mike Johnson celebrated these moves as evidence \u201cthis new White House is already showing its resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a new golden age for America,\u201d Johnson told the crowd.<\/p>\n
Despite frigid weather, a festive atmosphere surrounded the event as activists showed up with multicolored hats and signs declaring \u201cLife is our revolution\u201d and \u201cMAGA: Make Abortion Gone Again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a significant moment in history,\u201d said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group. \u201cYes, we have a march every year but this one is pretty special. We have just been through the first presidential election since the Dobbs decision. There is a trifecta of pro-life Republicans in the White House and the House and the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kristen Cooper, 21, was among several thousand Students for Life America members attending. She said she was especially excited to be at the march with \u201cpro-life Republicans\u201d in the White House.<\/p>\n
She said this march was her fourth but the first with a Republican administration. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Henderson, a teacher at a Catholic high school near Jackson, Michigan, was also attending her fourth march with a busload of her students.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we have the backing of the administration doesn\u2019t mean the fight is over,\u201d she said. \u201cWe still need to change people\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The march has been held annually since 1974. It comes after the president pardoned several activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.<\/p>\n
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said there is still work to be done, despite the Supreme Court decision. \u201cThere\u2019s no silver bullet to ending abortion,\u201d she said. \u201cThe march now ends on the backside of the U.S. Capitol to remind our representatives that abortion is not only a state issue, but also a local issue and also a federal issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawkins added that she\u2019d like to see Trump defund Planned Parenthood and more focus on making sure women with unplanned pregnancies have the resources to have the child, such as paid family leave and expanded child tax care credit.<\/p>\n
Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which supports abortion rights, said: \u201cWe know exactly what is at risk and we know the hate and lies they will spew at the March for Life.”<\/p>\n
The battle over abortion since the 2022 decision, has been in state courts and at the ballot box where voters in seven states approved ballot measures for constitutional amendments on reproductive freedom in November and more states could see ballot measures in coming years.<\/p>\n
Legislatures have been fighting back already with proposals that could make such measures more difficult to get passed.<\/p>\n
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the 2024 defeat of an abortion rights amendment on the March for Life stage and boasted about his role in the state-funded campaign against the measure. Voters there supported a state constitutional amendment overturning the ban but Florida requires 60% to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost elected officials will say \u2018Look, what\u2019s on the ballot is not their issue \u2014 the people can decide,'” DeSantis told the crowd. \u201cAnd they wash their hands of it and walk away.\u201d He added: “We were not just going to sit around in Florida and do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennie Bradley Lichter, the March for Life president-elect, said in addition to Friday\u2019s march the group plans to be at 17 state capitals across the country in 2025. She said, in an email answer to questions, that the march continues because it provides energy for the movement and signals that the issue of protecting unborn children is not resolved.<\/p>\n
Supporters of abortion rights spoke up, too.<\/p>\n
“No matter what they said on the campaign trail to win an election, this shows their intentions to continue to attack abortion access,\u201d Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations for the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said of abortion-rights opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach time one of these has taken place since the Dobbs decision, it\u2019s been a day to reflect on how much damage that\u2019s been caused by that decision and the crisis we continue to live in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellie Smeal, president and founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said her group wojld counterprotest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to remind people of the popularity of abortion rights and the importance of this issue, that women and men are supportive of people making their own reproductive health decisions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The march brings to a close a tumultuous week of protest marches, celebrations of Trump\u2019s inauguration and executive actions by the president, including stopping diversity efforts in the federal government.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n