The march, reported to number in the tens of thousands, was the 43rd annual demonstration, which began the year after Roe v. Wade was passed by the US Supreme Court.
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) January 27, 2017
Counselor to President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, was also among the speakers at the event.
"Science and medicine have joined religion and morality in causing many Americans to rethink just how fragile and how triumphant human life truly is," Conway said. "Look at a sonogram, meet a thriving toddler who was born at 24 weeks, and who, with proper medical intervention, goes on to have a long and healthy life."
As Vice President Pence’s motorcade rolled in, the crowd went wild with cheers and applause.
“I am deeply humbled to be the first Vice President of the United States to ever have the privilege to attend this historic gathering,” Pence said in his opening remarks to the crowd of thousands gathered around the Washington Monument.
Pence asserted that Trump had asked him to attend the event, and thanked the marchers for their support and “compassion for the women and children of this nation.”
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) January 27, 2017
"Life is winning in America and today is a celebration in that progress," Pence said. "We’ve come to a historic moment in the cause of life and we must approach it with with compassion for every American. Life is winning in America because of you.”
Pence promised the crowd that Trump’s administration would work with Congress to end taxpayer funding for abortion and abortion providers, instead rerouting those resources to alternative women’s health-care services.
"Let this movement be known for love," Pence remarked, drawing big cheers. "Not anger. For compassion. Not confrontation."
Pence’s sentiment did not last long, as a lone female pro-choice demonstrator burst into the crowd with a megaphone asserting that men at the march have no place dictating what women should do with their bodies. She was promptly circled by a large crowd alternating between chanting “Trump! Trump!” and “Pro-life! Pro-life!”
The woman, who chose not to identify herself, told Sputnik News that she was there on her own, and did not represent any specific organization, stating that she sought to “defend all women.”
— Sputnik US (@SputnikNewsUS) January 27, 2017
Several attendees squared off with the courageous protester, arguing that, in cases of rape, one assault does not justify another, meaning abortion.
“Abortion is the ultimate assault!” one woman, wearing a white “Make America Great Again” hat yelled at the counter-protester, when asked about what should happen in the cases of rape or incest. “Abortion is the ultimate rape! A woman’s womb is forced open to extract a human life!”
— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) January 27, 2017
The counter-protester responded by asserting that “women must have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies,” and that, “any steps to reverse Roe v. Wade would be regressing and removing rights that women before us had so-hard fought for.”
During Trump’s first week in office, he has signed a ban on organizations providing US funding for abortions internationally, reversing an order made by President Barack Obama eight years prior. Trump also stated that when he announces his nominee for the US Supreme Court, to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, next week, it will be a candidate opposed to abortion.
The Republican-controlled Congress is also introducing multiple abortion-limiting bills that they would have been unable to pass during the Obama administration.
