Trump, Vance to Address National March for Life

Pro-life supporters participate in the March For Life, which began at the National Mall and ended in front of the Supreme Court, in Washington on Jan. 19, 2024. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance will address tens of thousands of pro-life advocates at the March for Life on Jan. 24.

The event’s organizers announced on Jan. 23 that Vance will be there in person, making the event his first post-inaugural public appearance.

Trump will also address the crowd of thousands of pro-lifers in a recorded video message, according to the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

An administration official confirmed both reports to The Epoch Times.

“We are thrilled that Vice President Vance has chosen the National March for Life for his first public appearance in his new role—a sign of his commitment to standing up for life,” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, and Jennie Bradley Lichter, president-elect of the organization, said in a statement.

“President Trump governed as a pro-life president during his first term which resulted in a long list of accomplishments. We look forward to working with him and Vice President Vance as they dismantle the Biden Administration’s aggressive and unpopular abortion agenda and once again put wins on the board for vulnerable unborn children and their mothers.”

During his first term, Trump became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life in person.

This year marks the 52nd annual march, described on its website as “the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration.”

Originally organized to protest the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, the annual march is preceded by a rally on the National Mall, featuring several high-profile speakers.

This year’s lineup includes Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and pro-life activist Lila Rose, among others.

In June 2022, Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, allowing decisions about abortion to return to the states.

The march organizers, in a statement answering the question of why they continue to march despite the Roe v. Wade reversal, said their work toward building a culture of life in the United States is not finished.

“Sadly, the number of abortions annually is still well over 900,000 each year, and that number is expected to decrease only by roughly 200,000 each year in a post-Roe America,” March for Life states on its website. “Many national legislative battles loom.

“The goal of the national March for Life is to not only change laws at the state and federal level, but to change the culture to ultimately make abortion unthinkable.”

Trump’s reported participation in the March for Life comes as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called for a pardoning of all pro-life activists who were arrested during the Biden administration.

“We saw one persecution after another, from shutting down churches during COVID to raiding pro-lifers homes at the crack of dawn,” Hawley said on X on Jan. 23. “Every pro-life prisoner Biden wrongly imprisoned should be pardoned.”

His address also comes as GOP lawmakers push forward on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act on Jan. 23.