JD Vance Addresses ‘Elephant In The Room’ At March For Life

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance responded to the “elephant in the room” at the March for Life on Friday, concerns that not enough political progress is being made on the pro-life issue.

While the Trump administration has implemented policies that restrict taxpayer funding for abortion and pardoned pro-life activists targeted by the Biden administration, pro-life activists are still waiting on some of their biggest asks, like reinstating restrictions on the abortion pill.

“I want you to know that I hear you, and that I understand there will inevitably be debates within this movement,” Vance said. “We love each other, and we’re going to have open conversations about how best to use our political system to advance life, how prudential we must be in the cause of advancing human life. I think these are good, honest and natural debates. And frankly, they’re not just good for all of you. They help keep people like me honest, and that’s an important thing.”

Vance urged pro-lifers to remember the progress that has already been made in the last decade, namely the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

“I look at this crowd and I see young people for whom Dobbs is the only world they’ve ever known,” Vance said.

“I remember friends of mine who spent their entire lives fighting for the unborn without ever seeing the victories that have accumulated in recent years,” he continued. “My friends, I’d ask you to look where the fight for life stood just one decade ago, and now look where it stands today.”

The administration announced several new pro-life policies Thursday ahead of the March for Life, including an expansion of the Mexico City policy that restricts foreign aid funds from promoting abortion, an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood illegally received over $88 million in COVID-19 loans from the Small Business Administration and an end to funding for fetal tissue research.

Vance highlighted these policies, as well as pro-family policies the administration has advanced, such as increasing the Child Tax Credit.

In a video message, President Donald Trump emphasized how he appointed judges in his first term who overturned Roe v. Wade and the actions his administration has taken to protect religious liberty.

“Now the work to rebuild a culture that supports life continues in every state, every community and every part of our beautiful land. This is a battle that must be fought, must be won, not only in the corridors of power, but above all in the hearts and souls of the people. That is why under the Trump administration we are strongly defending religious liberty.”

The American Civil Liberties Union dropped a lawsuit against the Trump Administration on Jan. 13 after the Health and Human Services released millions of dollars in Title X family planning funds to Planned Parenthood. The funds had previously been withheld over “possible violations” of civil rights laws and the administration’s executive orders.

A former Trump administration official told the Daily Signal it restored the funds because the judge “almost certainly going to rule” against them. Several Planned Parenthood affiliates refused $2.3 million in unfrozen grants, which had been withheld over Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-related investigations, the Daily Caller reported Thursday.

Vance reminded the crowd of his speech at last year’s March for Life, where he said he wants to see more babies in America.

“Let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches,” he said, referencing his wife’s announcement that she is pregnant with their fourth child.

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