Trump pardons 23 anti-abortion activists on eve of March for Life rally

• After White House staff secretary Will Scharf told Trump the pardons were for "peaceful pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration," Trump said "many" of the activists were "elderly people."
• Trump described it as "ridiculous" that some remained in prison as he signed their pardons.

Zoom in: Among those convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and pardoned by Trump was Lauren Handy, 31, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading the blockade that prosecutors said resulted in a nurse spraining her ankle.

• Police found fetuses at Handy's Capitol Hill home, which anti-abortion activists said related to illegal late-term abortions. She was never charged with any offense in relation to this.

Zoom out: Trump signed the pardons one day after the 52nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court establishing the constitutional right to an abortion.

• This ruling, Roe v. Wade, was overturned in a majority Supreme Court decision in 2022 that Trump took credit for.
• Trump said during the 2024 presidential campaign that abortion laws should be left to states to decide, but did not endorse a national abortion ban after earlier hinting that he would support one.

Flashback... Vance: GOP has to earn America's trust back on abortion

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more context.