Within the first week of U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, he used executive authority to block taxpayer funds from paying for elective abortion procedures both in the U.S. and abroad and delivered a virtual message to the March for Life rally on Jan. 24, while Vice President JD Vance addressed marchers in person.

Trump’s comments and the directives he issued marked something of a return to the pro-life cause after his efforts to strike a moderate tone on the issue during his campaign or even distancing himself from the issue entirely, such as when he stated abortion should be a matter for the states rather than Congress and said he would veto a federal abortion ban if one reached his desk.

But a number of pro-life activists who spoke with OSV News at the March for Life praised Trump as taking decisive action on the issue in the first days of his second term. 

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Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, praised Trump for pardoning 23 individuals she said were improperly prosecuted by the Biden administration under the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which prohibits actions including obstructing the entrance to an abortion clinic, as among the first acts of his term. But Hawkins also said Trump’s job “isn’t done,” and the movement should push him to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood.

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Supporters of allowing Planned Parenthood to receive Medicaid funds argue the organization’s involvement in cancer screening and prevention services warrant the funds, but critics argue the funds are fungible and could be used to facilitate abortion. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which works to elect pro-life candidates to public office, said Trump authorized “concrete policies that are being announced that are very strong and the fruit of a lot of work from a lot of pro-life people all over the country.”