Thousands Participate In Pro-Life March In Washington, Trump Makes Historic Appearance

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2020) Thousands of anti-abortion activists from across the United States gathered in Washington to participate in the 47th annual March for Life rally.

President Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to attend the annual event. Trump told the audience at Friday's rally that he is the strongest defender of unborns to ever occupy the White House.

The march is organized ever year by activists who want the US Supreme Court to overturn a 1973 decision that legalized abortion.

Although there was an increased law enforcement presence, the rally remained peaceful, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The participants carried banners reading "Love life, Choose life" and "I am the pro-life generation." Other banners had slogans like, "A person's a person, no matter how small" and "life is sacred" along with "life counts."

One sign thanked Trump for "defending the unborn." Many wore shirts saying "Donald Trump 2020" or carried banners supporting Trump for president, like "Latinas for Trump."

The crowd included clerics and men and women of all ages - including children, school students, and the elderly. A range of ethnicities were represented including Native Americans.

The event is held on the National Mall, the central street of the US Capitol. The adjacent streets were closed to traffic.

"All of us here today understand an eternal truth: Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God. Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life," Trump said. "Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House. And as the Bible tells us, each person is 'wonderfully made.'"

Trump also said he wanted to thank the "tens of thousands" of Americans gathered at Friday's event for standing for life.

"We cannot know what our citizens yet unborn will achieve, the dreams they will imagine, the masterpieces they will create, the discoveries they will make. But we know this: Every life brings love into this world. Every child brings joy to a family. Every person is worth protecting. And above all, we know that every human soul is divine, and every human life - born and unborn - is made in the holy image of Almighty God," Trump said.

In 2017, Vice President Mike Pence took part in the event, the first time that a sitting President or Vice President addressed the March for Life in person.

In January of 1973, the US Supreme Court in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision ruled that women had the liberty to choose to have an abortion. The ruling sparked a debate between pro-choice and pro-life supporters that has continued unabated, while the topic of abortion rights has been a major political issue in US elections at every level.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), states have enacted more restrictions on abortion since 2011 than the previous 10 years combined. The ACLU said today some 207 abortion opponents in US Congress have urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.