WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Donald Trump pledged to “stand proudly for families and for life” in a video message for the 52nd annual March for Life Jan. 24.
Trump, who took office just days earlier, delivered the message to the crowd at the event’s preceding rally, while Vice President JD Vance addressed marchers in person.
Leaning into an anti-abortion message after trying to strike a moderate tone on the issue during his campaign, Trump said he was “so proud to be a participant” in the process to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
During his third Republican bid for the White House, Trump argued that abortion should be a matter for the states rather than Congress and said he would veto a federal abortion ban if one reached his desk. On several occasions, Trump has blamed the issue of abortion and pro-life voters for the Republican Party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterm election cycle.
But Trump told rallygoers, “to all of the very special people marching today in this bitter cold, I know your hearts are warm and your spirits are strong because your vision is just very, very pure to forge a society that welcomes and protects every child as a beautiful gift from the hand of our Creator.”
Pardon for pro-life activists
Among the first actions of his second term, Trump issued pardons for 23 individuals he said were improperly prosecuted by the Biden administration under the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which prohibits actions including obstructing the entrance to an abortion clinic.
Trump touted those pardons in his comments, saying those individuals were “persecuted by the Biden regime.”
In remarks to reporters at the White House before leaving to survey disaster response in North Carolina and California, Trump was asked about the pro-life event.
“We look forward to seeing it,” he said. “I’m going to be watching it and JD Vance, our vice president, is there and he’s going to be representing us very well. It’s taking place in a little while and, other than being a little bit cold, it’s a beautiful day.”
In an in-person address to the rally, Vance said Trump’s second term would be the “return of the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetime.”
During his 2022 U.S. Senate bid in Ohio, Vance, a Catholic, said he supported a federal 15-week abortion ban — a measure potentially affecting nearly 6% of abortions in the U.S. But two years later, in the days leading up to his selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Vance moderated his position on abortion, aligning with Trump that abortion policy should be left to the states, affirming Trump’s stated position he would oppose a federal abortion ban if Congress passed such a law.
In a July interview, Vance also said he supported mifepristone, a pill commonly used for first-trimester abortion, “being accessible.” Although mifepristone can be used in early miscarriage care protocols, Vance did not qualify his statement. Nearly nine out of 10 abortions take place within the first trimester, with more than six of 10 abortions performed through mifepristone.
Need for a culture that celebrates life
In his address to the March for Life rally, Vance said, “I want more babies in the United States of America,” and argued addressing cost-of-living concerns would be part of this approach.
“We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market, but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country,” Vance said.
Vance has also frequently discussed a more aggressive policy approach to combating root causes of poverty, such as advocating for a higher minimum wage and floating a $5,000 per child tax credit. Some pro-family researchers have pointed to findings indicating that giving robust child allowances to parents could have both anti-poverty and pro-life effects by lifting households with children out of poverty. In the U.S., abortion correlates heavily with low-income levels, with seven out of 10 women telling researchers at the Guttmacher Institute that they could not afford a baby as an important factor in why they had an abortion.
In their respective remarks, neither Trump nor Vance mentioned plans to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which would bar taxpayer funds from going to nongovernmental organizations abroad that perform abortions. However, RealClear Politics reported that hours after delivering his virtual message to the pro-life rally, Trump signed an executive order while aboard Air Force One to reinstate the policy.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., were among the speakers at the rally.
DeSantis said in his address that he supports Trump’s executive order seeking to change the interpretation of the 14th Amendment to curb birthright citizenship, but then argued the move prompted media coverage of the concerns of mothers of “unborn children.”
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, delivered an opening prayer, and thanked outgoing March for Life President Jeanne Mancini for her leadership.
Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, author and motivational speaker, said that when she lost her arm in a shark attack, “someone came alongside me, and gave me hope.”
“They reminded me of God’s love,” Hamilton said, urging those in attendance to be a voice of hope for those facing pregnancies in difficult circumstances.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
Updated Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
