The Japan Times - US anti-abortion rally celebrates Trump's return

The self-described "pro-life" movement is on a roll as it staged the 52nd annual March for Life on the National Mall, invigorated by recent victories to restrict abortion and Trump's return to the presidency.

They scored a historic win in 2022 when the conservative-dominated Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling enshrining the right to abortion access everywhere in the United States.

The march was something of a victory lap for the new Republican president, who claims credit for the ruling after appointing three of the conservative justices who were behind the ruling during his first term.

"In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life," said Trump said in a pre-taped video message broadcast to the crowd.

Trump, who was touring natural disaster zones in North Carolina and California, vowed to "protect the historic gains" made by the anti-abortion movement.

And he repeated his frequent, inflammatory falsehood that Democrats want to legalize all abortion "even after birth."

Members of the neo-Nazi Patriot Front -- which promotes the white supremacist conspiracy theory that immigrants are being brought to replace white Americans -- marched to the rally in military style and brandished flags and Christian symbols.

The group formed in the aftermath of a violent far-right rally in Virginia in 2017 that featured white nationalist marchers.

At the time, Trump stoked controversy after the clashes between the white-supremacists and counter-protesters, saying there were "some very fine people" on both sides.

- 'Most pro-life president' -

The march to the Supreme Court and US Capitol complex started with a rally on the National Mall, featuring speeches from high-ranking Republicans including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

"The sanctity of life does not depend on poll results. It doesn't depend on which way the wind is blowing," said Florida Governor and one-time presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis.

"It's an enduring truth and it represents the foundation of our society."

Organizers of the "March for Life" say the goal of their movement is to not only change laws, "but to change the culture to ultimately make abortion unthinkable."

After succeeding in a decades-long campaign to have the Supreme Court overturn Roe, the movement is setting its sights on the legal fights playing out in individual states.

Many conservative states have acted since the court's 2022 ruling to introduce curbs, and 29 percent of women aged between 18 and 44 now live in an area where abortion is mostly or entirely banned, according to the website Politifact.

Polls, however, repeatedly show a clear majority of Americans support continued access to safe abortion.

Trump has touted himself as the "most pro-life president ever" and became the first sitting commander-in-chief to attend the March for Life.

But he has a spotty record on the issue, and was largely given a pass by his evangelical support base to speak in more moderate terms during his election campaign.

Worried that a strong anti-abortion stance could be a vote loser, Trump refused to back a federal ban during his election campaign and even spoke out against Florida's six-week restriction.

But he repeatedly claimed credit for the Supreme Court ruling.

And on returning to office, he pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists jailed for blockading abortion clinics, calling them "peaceful pro-life protesters."

"Never again will religious persecution be allowed to happen in America," Trump vowed in his video message.

T.Ikeda--JT