SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of people who want to outlaw abortion marched across downtown San Francisco on Saturday in the 16th annual Walk for Life.

The event, which included a Roman Catholic Mass and a rally near City Hall, came three days after the 47th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. It also came a day after the March for Life in Washington, where President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to speak at the annual gathering that is one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events.

The appearance made clear that, as he heads into the 2020 election, Trump is counting on conservative Christians to help reelect him.

Participants who traveled from different parts of the West Coast to San Francisco seized on the election year by carrying signs such as “I Vote Pro-Life First.”

A speaker urged them to keep fighting “until America is pro-life.”

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, difficult days are ahead, but the light is shining more and more and Roe v. Wade’s days are over,” said Rev. Clenard Childress, pastor of the New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, New Jersey.

There was a strong police presence at the march. At one point, the marchers were met with counter-protesters but there were no immediate reports of violence.

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