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In addresses to the March for Life, the nation’s largest anti-abortion rally, Donald Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, both indicated on Friday that the US justice department would no longer prosecute anti-abortion activists.
“No longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists – elderly, grandparents, or anybody else – in prison,” Vance told the thousands-strong crowd that gathered on the National Mall, in the shadow of the Washington Monument. “It stopped on Monday, and we’re not gonna let it come back to this country.”
Vance trumpeted the president’s decision to, on Thursday, pardon several anti-abortion activists who had been convicted of violating the federal Free Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the Face Act, by blockading an abortion clinic. That law penalizes people who threaten, obstruct or injure someone who is trying to access a reproductive health clinic – or who vandalize a clinic. Anti-abortion activists have, for years, attempted to strike it down or convince the federal government to stop enforcing it.
“I’m releasing the Christians and pro-life activists who were persecuted by the Biden regime for praying and living out their faith,” Trump said in his own address, which the president pre-recorded and broadcast to the crowd on two giant screens. He added: “Never again will religious persecution be allowed to happen in America.”
However, neither Trump nor Vance talked about any of the sweeping policies that abortion rights activists are now bracing for, such as the enforcement of a 19th-century anti-vice law that could effectively ban abortion nationwide. They did not even mention the Mexico City policy, which is also known as the “global gag rule” and which blocks foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving assistance if they refer people for abortions, counsel them on the procedure or advocate for its access.
Every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has enforced this rule. And every Democratic one has rescinded it, although Trump – during his first presidency – dramatically expanded the rule’s scope so that it affected some $6bn in aid. The lack of immediate action from the new Trump administration on the policy has puzzled abortion rights supporters.
In recent years, the March for Life has at times doubled as a Trump rally. This year’s iteration was no different. Vendors sold marchers red hats with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (Maga) slogan and T-shirts bearing the words “FIGHT … FIGHT … FIGHT!” above an image of Trump holding his fist in the air (which was taken shortly after his attempted assassination in July).
Trump and Vance’s appearances also seemingly garnered the biggest roars from the crowd – far more than any anti-abortion talking point or the appearances of the US Senate majority leader, John Thune, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, or Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis.
Johnson did win big cheers from the marchers, though, when he mentioned a recent executive order that declared that people are divided into male and female “at conception”. That language evokes the doctrine of fetal personhood, which holds that embryos and fetuses should be granted full legal rights and protections – and which, if fully enacted, would totally outlaw abortion as well as potentially criminalize abortion patients.
“Our country has got to get back to God,” said Marie Summergren, 64, of Pennsylvania. “Neither one – our president or our vice-president – has any problem saying that.”
She added: “It feels as though the tide is turning. It’s OK to talk about God again.” (Joe Biden, the previous president, was a devout Catholic.)
The marchers struck an ebullient tone, convinced that Trump’s return to the White House signaled their own return to power after a series of electoral defeats. After Vance spoke, the crowd chanted: “JD! JD! JD!” Then, as they marched towards the National Mall and the US Capitol building, cheers like “We love babies! Yes we do!” and “Your mom! Chose life!” sprang up. They also carried signs that declared “Life Wins,” “Defund Planned Parenthood” and “Make More Babies.”
Many did not seem convinced that abortion bans should contain any exceptions.
“Human life starts at conception,” said Henry Cooper, an 18-year-old march attender from California. “An abortion is never medically necessary. Ectopic pregnancy is something else. That’s not considered an abortion. There’s always something you can do.”
“Besides ectopic pregnancies, there are no cases where abortion improves the likelihood of the mother surviving other than a non-abortion way would,” agreed Luc Lessard, 18, of Colorado. “There’s no real cause for it.”
(The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the pre-eminent membership organization for US ob-gyns, has repeatedly emphasized the medical need for abortion access. At least five women have reportedly died after abortion bans affected their medical care.)
Both Cooper and Lessard voted for Trump. The duo bought a pair of red Maga hats for $30 at the march.
“I’m excited for the next four years,” Cooper said.
