(LifeSiteNews) — U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. via video on Friday, just one day after pardoning 23 pro-lifers imprisoned by the Biden administration.
After recalling the historic Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and returning abortion to “a vote of the people,” as he put it, Trump said “we will again stand proudly for families and for life” focusing on the subject of making it easier to choose life. “We will protect our gains, work to offer a loving hand for mothers and for families, and promote adoption,” he said.
“We will finally investigate attacks on pregnancy center and churches,” Trump went on, referencing a conspicuous double-standard under the Biden administration. He then referenced his pardoning of the peaceful pro-life activists.
Trump singled out the example of Paulette Harlow, who is 75 and suffers numerous debilitating health conditions, yet sentenced to 24 months in jail for blocking access to a late-term abortion facility in Washington, DC in 2020. She had been found guilty in November 2023 on charges of “conspiracy against rights” and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
“Never again will religious persecution” be allowed in the United States, Trump declared.
The president concluded by telling the crowd braving the cold, “you hearts are warm and your spirits are strong, because your cause is just and very very pure,” and thanking them for valuing every child as a “beautiful gift from the hand of our creator.”
The March for Life, originally launched a half-century ago to protest Roe v. Wade, enters its 52nd year amid a period of uncertainty. The overturn of Roe has given the pro-life movement an unprecedented opportunity to advance the cause, yet Republicans faced setbacks in the 2022 midterm elections and uncertainty about Trump’s opposition to further federal abortion restrictions in favor of leaving the fight to individual states.
With the 2024 election delivering a strong rebuke of Democrats’ emphasis on abortion, it remains to be seen how exactly Republicans will pursue federal pro-life objectives in the new year. During his first week back in office, Trump has so far made two encouraging pro-life moves: shutting down a federal government “reproductive rights” web page, and pardoning the pro-life detainees.
