Marking Roe Anniversary, Optimistic Pro-Lifers Pin Hopes on Trump

Pro-life activists showed optimism on Monday after President Donald Trump said he plans to help their cause during the anniversary week of the Roe vs. Wade decision. 

Hundreds gathered at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka to mark the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal across the nation.

Trump has promised to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court with what he is calling a "pro-life" justice. He also said he would sign anti-abortion measures approved by the Republican-controlled Congress. 

He also reinstated a ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or give information on the option to receive one. 

Longtime pro-life Kansas activists along with private school students joined other prominent state officials at the annual Rally for Life, one day after the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. 

The rally, the largest annual political event at the Capitol in Topeka, also included worship services and workshops, which came before the annual March for Life rally on Friday in Washington. 

At the state level, new restrictions on abortion are being pushed in various GOP-controlled legislatures. Ohio and Kentucky, within the past six weeks, have joined 15 others states to ban abortions after 20 weeks. 

The number of abortions is also reported to have fallen to about 926,000 in 2014, which is the lowest level since 1974.