President Donald Trump pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists on Thursday, with the White House claiming their prosecution stemmed from actions taken during Joe Biden’s presidency.
“Many of them are elderly people, and they shouldn’t have been prosecuted,” Trump said in the Oval Office. The decision was announced just one day before a large anti-abortion rally scheduled in Washington.
“This is a great honor to sign this,” Trump remarked.
An aide present at the announcement referred to the pardoned individuals as “peaceful pro-life protesters,” but no further information about their cases was made available by the White House.
Reports from US media suggested that the activists were previously convicted of blocking entry to abortion facilities.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks via video at the upcoming “March for Life” rally in Washington on Friday. Vice President JD Vance is set to attend the event in person.
The president has recently taken a cautious approach to the divisive issue of abortion.
While religious conservatives have called for federal legislation banning abortion, Trump has emphasized that individual states should make their own decisions on the matter.
Despite this, he has frequently touted his role in shaping the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
That ruling was facilitated by the conservative-majority court, bolstered by justices appointed during Trump’s first term.
In the wake of that landmark ruling, over 20 states have enacted varying levels of abortion restrictions.
Since beginning his second term on Monday, Trump has used a series of pardons to appeal to his political base.
On the day of his inauguration, he pardoned roughly 1,500 individuals connected to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, where supporters attempted to challenge his electoral defeat to Joe Biden.
A day later, on Wednesday, Trump also pardoned two police officers convicted in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Black man during a high-speed chase in Washington in 2020.
