WASHINGTON -- Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd gathered in Washington for the annual March for Life rally that ending taxpayer-funded abortion is an important priority of President Donald Trump.
He said the Trump administration would "work with the Congress to end taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion providers, and we will devote those resources to health care services for women across America."
A budget provision known as the Hyde Amendment already bans federal funding for Medicaid coverage of most abortions. Conservatives would like to see the rule made into a permanent law.
Speaking to a crowd gathered near the Washington Monument, Pence said the nation's founders, in the Declaration of Independence, intended "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" to be for all Americans, including the unborn.
It was my honor to speak at the @March_for_Life today w/ my family & share the commitment of @POTUS to restore culture of life in America. pic.twitter.com/2ucCZBAdHj
— Vice President Pence (@VP) January 27, 2017
He accused the U.S. Supreme Court, in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that legalized abortion, of having "turned away from these timeless ideals."
He said President Donald Trump would be nominating a Supreme Court justice next week who "will uphold the God-given liberties enshrined in our Constitution."
WATCH Pence's full speech below:
