Trump at March for Life rally: ‘Unborn children have never had a stronger defender’

President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the annual March for Life event on Friday in Washington, D.C., saying “unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House.”

Trump is the first U.S president to attend the anti-abortion rally. However, former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush made phone calls into the event.

Trump said that he has taken “historic action” to “protect the unborn” from his first day in office. He continued, saying: “Every person is worth protecting.”

“Every human soul is divine, and every human life — born and unborn — is made in the holy image of almighty God,” Trump said.

Trump also took a swipe at Democrats, saying the “far-left is actively working to erase our God-given rights.”

“They are coming after me because I’m fighting for you, and we are fighting for those that have no voice,” he said. “And we will win because we know how to win.”

Vice President Mike Pence said in a video aired at the rally before Trump’s speech that he had recently spoken with Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome. He said that he thanked the pope for all he and Catholic Americans have done to “defend the sanctity of human life.”

“I couldn’t be more proud to serve as vice president to the most pro-life president in American history,” Pence said. “Life is winning in America again.”

Trump’s speech continues an effort by his administration to restrict abortion access, including a proposal to take legal action over a California mandate that requires insurers to cover the procedure.

In an post on Twitter, Planned Parenthood acting President Alexis McGill Johnson said that Trump’s attendance at the rally is “further confirmation that the sitting President of the United States is determined to end the American people’s ability to access abortion.”

Thousands of people were expected to attend the rally, which came just days after the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court case is known for making abortion legal nationwide.

The March for Life event was founded in 1974 by anti-abortion activist Nellie Gray, who in the past referred to Roe v. Wade as an “evil imposed upon our country.” Gray died in 2012 at age 88.