Health Care

Trump pushes Senate to vote on 20-week abortion ban

President Trump on Friday called on the Senate to pass a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks.

“I call upon the Senate to pass this important law and send it to my desk for signing,” Trump said in his address to the March for Life, an annual march against abortion in Washington, D.C. 

Trump spoke to attendees from the White House Rose Garden via live satellite video. 

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The 20-week abortion bill passed the House last year but has not been called for a vote in the Senate, where it’s unlikely to pass because of a slim Republican majority. 

Trump touted the various anti-abortion policies his administration has enacted, including action the Health and Human Services Department took Friday rescinding Obama-era guidance aimed at preventing states from defunding Planned Parenthood.

“Under my administration, we will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence and that is the right to life,” Trump said. “We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society.” 

In his introduction of Trump, Vice President Pence called Trump the “most pro-life president in American history.” 

“This president has been a tireless defender of life and conscience in America,” Pence said. 

“With your continued dedication and compassion, with pro-life majorities in the House, with President Trump in the White House, and with God’s help, we will restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law.”