Trump, who previously said he was ‘very pro-choice’, is the first sitting president to address the annual Washington event in person

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump used a speech to anti-abortion activists on Friday to hail plans to give “conscience protections” to medical providers who refuse to perform abortions for moral or religious reasons.

New office will help medical providers deny treatment on religious grounds Read more

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also reversed Obama-era legal guidance that discouraged conservative states from trying to defund organisations that provide abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood.

Trump, formerly a supporter of a woman’s right to choose, became the first sitting president to address the annual March for Life in Washington in person, although he did so by video-link.

Speaking at the end of a week that saw him accused of an extramarital affair with Stephanie Clifford, a pornographic actor who performs under the name Stormy Daniels, Trump declared: “We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society.”

Under the new regulation, hospitals, universities, clinics and other entities that receive funding from HHS programmes such as Medicare and Medicaid must certify that they comply with about 25 federal laws protecting conscience and religious rights. Most such laws address medical procedures such as abortion, sterilisation and assisted suicide.

The HHS also took action that may help conservative states cut or eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, a major source of routine medical care for women.

The department rescinded guidance from the Obama administration that narrowed the circumstances in which states can exclude a medical provider to cases involving fraud, criminal activity or being unfit to provide care.

The HHS measures follow last year’s failure by congressional Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice-president of the organisation, said: “They couldn’t get the votes to pass it in Congress, so now they are pushing states to try and block care at Planned Parenthood. The law is clear: it is illegal to bar women from seeking care at Planned Parenthood.”

Monday marks the 45th anniversary of the Roe v Wade supreme court ruling that enshrined a woman’s right to abortion at most stages of a pregnancy. It was also the 45th March for Life.

In his speech, relayed via video link from the White House Rose Garden to thousands gathered on Washington’s National Mall, Trump said: “As you all know, Roe v Wade has resulted in some of the most permissive abortion laws anywhere in the world.”

Trump also made the contentious claim that the US “is one of only seven countries to allow elective late-term abortions”, citing China and North Korea.

“It is wrong,” he said. “It has to change.”



In a 1999 interview, Trump said that while he “hated the concept of abortion”, he was “very pro-choice”. In 2016, Christian evangelicals and pro-life groups were a crucial part of his successful campaign for president.

Democrats condemned the changes. Senator Richard Blumenthal said: “Today’s action invites states to violate longstanding federal law that protects patients and allows them to seek care from the provider of their choice. Do not be confused by false claims that this attack on women’s health is about ‘flexibility’. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled, partisan assault on women and their families who seek care at Planned Parenthood and other women’s health providers.”

He added: “These efforts are a slap in the face to millions of American women and their families. The Trump Administration is at overwhelming odds with the American public, and yet continues its disgraceful assault on women’s health.”