National pro-life groups are heralding in a new administration led by Donald Trump as he is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement, “We are pleased to see pro-life President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence sworn in today and look forward to immediately working together to advance protections for unborn children and their mothers.”
Dannenfelser continued:
Already, the difference between this administration and its predecessor could not be more clear. President Trump continually surrounds himself with key advisers and personnel who share his commitment to protecting the lives of the vulnerable, as well as pro-life taxpayers. We have been impressed by the skill and experience of the team he has put in place during the transition. Together, we will advance a culture of life by fulfilling the pro-life commitments made during the campaign. With pro-life President Trump and a pro-life Congress, we have an historic opportunity to advance policy that will save lives.”
Dannenfelser served as national chairwoman of Trump’s pro-life coalition. As a candidate for the presidency, Trump outlined four policy commitments in a letter to pro-life leaders:
- Nominating pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Signing into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would end painful late-term abortions nationwide
- Defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions and reallocating their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women
- Making the Hyde Amendment permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions
“This is a day of hope for the pro-life movement, which has fought so tenaciously to protect unborn children and their mothers in every political climate,” Dannenfelser said.
In a letter to supporters, March for Life Action president Tom McCluskey said, “Under the Obama Administration, our nation saw an unprecedented expansion of government abortion funding, and the prosecution of pro-life Americans – like the Little Sisters of the Poor and the staff at the March for Life – because of our pro-life beliefs.”
“I am hopeful about the incoming Administration,” he continued. “I am optimistic that in these next 100 days, and coming years, we can see a reversal of pro-abortion policies in our government. The new Congress presents the pro-life movement with many opportunities to pass pro-life legislation and advance a culture of life.”
The 44th annual March for Life will be held on Friday, January 27 on the national mall in Washington, D.C. Addressing the tens of thousands of participants expected will be President Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway, a longtime pro-life advocate.
“We are thrilled to have Kellyanne Conway speak at this year’s March for Life,” Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, said. “As the first female to run a successful presidential campaign and as a steadfast advocate for life and family issues, Kellyanne beautifully embodies the 2017 March for Life’s theme, ‘The Power of One.’”
“It is our hope that this year’s March for Life will encourage each of us to seek and fulfill our unique mission to the best of our ability because only in doing so we will collectively build a culture of life in the U.S. – a culture where abortion is unthinkable,” Mancini added.
The March for Life is the world’s largest pro-life demonstration. It is held each year on or around the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States.