For the first time in years, abortion opponents will have all the political momentum when they hold their annual rally in Washington.
The March for Life, held each year on the National Mall to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalising abortion, will have one of its biggest-name speakers in years: Vice President Mike Pence.
The March for Life said that neither a president nor a vice president has ever addressed the event now in its 44th year. And one of President Donald Trump's top advisers, Kellyanne Conway, is also on the speakers' list.
Organisers told the National Park Service in their permit application they expect 50,000 participants. Yet Trump insisted on the eve of the rally that the crowd would be far larger, saying "a lot of people are gonna be showing up."
"You know, the press never gives them the credit that they deserve," Trump told Republicans gathered in Philadelphia. "They'll have 300, 400, 500, 600 thousand people. You won't even read about it. When other people show up, you read big-time about it. Right? So, it's not fair, but nothing fair about the media."
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One of Trump's first official acts after taking office a week ago was to sign an executive order banning US aid to foreign groups that provide abortions.
In Congress, Republican majorities in both chambers are vowing to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provided more than a third of the nation's abortions in 2014. They also hope to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Trump has pledged to sign both measures if they reach his desk.
