Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally

Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally 1 of 6 | JD Vance encourages anti-abortion activists to celebrate progress in limiting abortion during the annual Right to Life rally. He highlighted the Trump administration’s expansion of a ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups that support abortion services. 2 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) 3 of 6 | Members of the Patriot Front hold flags on the National Mall during the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 4 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) 5 of 6 | An anti-abortion demonstrator attends the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 6 of 6 | An anti-abortion activist places flowers in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) 1 of 6 JD Vance encourages anti-abortion activists to celebrate progress in limiting abortion during the annual Right to Life rally. He highlighted the Trump administration’s expansion of a ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups that support abortion services. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 6 Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 6 Members of the Patriot Front hold flags on the National Mall during the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 6 Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 6 An anti-abortion demonstrator attends the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 6 An anti-abortion activist places flowers in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Vice President JD Vance on Friday encouraged anti-abortion activists to “take heart in how far we’ve come” on the quest to limit the practice, listing the Trump administration’s accomplishments including an expansion of a ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups supporting abortion services.“There is still much road ahead to travel together,” Vance told attendees at the annual March for Life demonstration, which draws tens of thousands of people annually to Washington. Attendees rallied on the National Mall before heading to the Supreme Court.Vance, a Republican, has spent years passionately advocating for Americans to have more children. He repeatedly expressed alarm about declining birth rates as he launched his political career in 2021 with a successful bid for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, and as vice president he has continued on that mission. “I want more babies in the United States of America,” Vance said in addressing last year’s March for Life.Earlier this week, Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, announced in a social media post they are expecting a son, their fourth child, in late July. “Let the record show, you have a vice president who practices what he preaches,” Vance said on Friday.Vance cited the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, calling it “the most important Supreme Court decision of my lifetime.” He said President Donald Trump’s leadership and appointment of conservative jurists “put a definitive end to the tyranny of judicial rule on the question of human life.” He also lauded the “historic expansion of the Mexico City policy,” the broadening of a ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups supporting abortion services, to include assistance going to international and domestic organizations and agencies that promote gender identity as well as diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “We believe that every country in the world has the duty to protect life,” Vance said, to a sea of supporters waving signs reading “Choose Life,” “Make More Babies” and “I am the Pro-Life Generation.”“It’s not our job as the United States of America to promote radical gender ideology,” he said. “It’s our job to promote families and human flourishing.”On Thursday, an official said the Trump administration was implementing new rules, halting foreign assistance from going not only to groups that provide abortion as a method of family planning but also to those that advocate “gender ideology” and DEI. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the rules’ publication in the Federal Register on Friday.First established under President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, the policy was rescinded by subsequent Democratic administrations and was reinstated in Trump’s first term.With its origins in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that nationally enshrined federal protection for abortion rights, the March for Life developed an entrenched presence among conservatives arguing against abortion. In 2017, Trump addressed the march by video, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to make live remarks. Three years later, he attended the event in person, further cementing its role in conservative politics. In a video address to this year’s crowd, Trump recounted his administration’s “unprecedented strides to protect innocent life and support the institution of the family like never before,” enumerating his appointment of “judges and justices who believed in interpreting the Constitution as written” and “reflecting on the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Kinnard covers national politics for The Associated Press. She lives in South Carolina.