Trump tells March for Life: ‘We are with you all the way’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday delivered new support to the anti-abortion movement he once opposed, telling thousands of activists demonstrating in the annual March for Life, “We are with you all the way.”
In an address broadcast from the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he’s committed to building “a society where life is celebrated, protected and cherished.”
The moment marked the president personally stepping to the forefront of the anti-abortion movement in the United States as the anniversary of his inauguration approaches. Last year, Vice President Mike Pence addressed the crowd in Trump’s absence. In the year since, Trump has delivered on rules and policies he had promised in an effort to help curb abortion rights legalized 45 years ago. Chief among them is the confirmation of conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Trump’s administration also announced more actions in line with long-standing demands from social and religious conservatives.
The Department of Health and Human Services spelled out plans to protect medical providers who refuse to perform procedures such as abortions because of moral or religious scruples. HHS also pulled back an Obama-era policy that posed a legal roadblock to conservative states trying to cut Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood.
The announcements coincided with the annual March for Life on Washington by abortion opponents.
Pence gave a preview Thursday night when he told the marchers, “In one short year, President Donald Trump has made a difference for life.”
HHS said it is proposing a new regulation that sets out how existing federal conscience protections will be enforced. That follows an announcement Thursday of a new division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights .
The HHS took action that may help conservative states cut or eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. The department rescinded guidance to states from President Barack Obama’s administration that narrowed the circumstances in which they can exclude a medical provider to cases involving fraud, criminal activity or being unfit to provide care.