For most of her life, Gina Garvey has trekked to the Washington mall to join abortion opponents in the annual March for Life.

On Friday, the crowd was similar to so many others she had seen: people hoisting signs that denounced Planned Parenthood and declared that life is beautiful; nuns and priests in habits; school groups in colorful knit hats; so many people that at times it was difficult to move.

But something felt different, said Garvey, who traveled from Fredrick, Maryland, with her 24-year-old daughter Maggie and Suzy Wilkinson, 51, the mother of Maggie’s boyfriend.

“There’s actually hope now,” Garvey said.

The first week of the Trump administration has been marked by a series of high-profile political protests, many of them decrying the president. Activists have raised alarms about Trump’s sexually predatory comments about women, as well as his rash of promised policy changes and executive actions that target immigration, climate change, and voting rights, among other issues.