President Trump became the first sitting president Friday to address the annual March for Life live via satellite, telling tens of thousands of marchers in Washington, “we are with you all the way.”
“Because of you, tens of thousands of Americans have been born and reached their full God-given potential,” Mr. Trump told the marchers from the White House Rose Garden, surrounded by pro-life families. “The March of Life is a movement born out of love.”
Marchers watched the president’s address on large video screens in the nation’s capital on a relatively warm, sunny winter day in Washington.
Mr. Trump urged the Senate to approve House-passed legislation that would criminalize abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except for instances where the life of the mother is at risk or in cases involving rape or incest. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was approved by the House in October along party lines.
“I strongly supported the House’s ‘pain-capable’ bill, which would end painful late-term abortions nationwide,” Mr. Trump said. “I call upon the Senate to pass this important law and send it to my desk for signing.”
The president said the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 “has resulted in some of the most permissive abortion laws anywhere in the world.”
He said the U.S. “is one of only seven countries to allow elective late-term abortions along with China, North Korea and others.”
“Americans are more and more pro-life,” the president said. “Only 12 percent of Americans support abortion on demand at any time.”
Other presidents have spoken to the marchers via telephone, including Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Vice President Mike Pence addressed the march last year.
Mr. Pence attended the Rose Garden event Friday and called Mr. Trump “the most pro-life president in history.”
“I believe with all of my heart, with your continued dedication and compassion, with pro-life majorities in the Congress, with President Donald Trump in this White House and with God’s help, we will restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law,” Mr. Pence said.
He told the marchers, “Your activism and your prayers are saving lives. This president stands with you.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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