Trump Vows To Defend ‘Right To Life’ As Antiabortion Marchers Hit The Streets In D.C.

The Associated Press: Trump Promises March For Life Crowd That He Stands With Them
President Donald Trump sought to assure opponents of abortion rights on Friday that he stands with them and would veto any legislation from a Democratic-controlled House that "weakens the protection of human life." Trump spoke via video to participants at this year's March for Life on the National Mall. Thousands of people across the country braved the cold to attend the event. "As president, I will always defend the first right in our Declaration of Independence, the right to life," Trump said. (Freking, 1/18)

The Hill: Trump Vows To Veto Bills Expanding Abortion Rights In Video Address To March For Life
Vice President Pence spoke in person at the march, calling Trump a “champion” for abortion opponents. “President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history,” Pence told the crowd. He touted the slew of conservative judges that Trump has named to the courts, as well as actions like reinstating the Mexico City policy, which restricts U.S. foreign aid dollars from going to nongovernmental organizations that promote or provide abortions. (Sullivan, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Hammers California Over Defunct Crisis Pregnancy Center Law Before March For Life Rally
As thousands of activists gathered for the country’s largest antiabortion rally on Friday, the Trump administration announced the first enforcement action by its year-old Conscience and Religious Freedom Division — a finding that the state of California violated federal conscience protections. The action appeared symbolic, since the state law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to provide women with information on how to access free and low-cost abortion services was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-to-4 ruling in June. Its announcement came as the administration made a series of overtures to antiabortion activists to promote its track record of advancing anti-abortion judges and regulations and expanding protections for doctors, nurses and others opposed to providing such services. (Johnson, 1/18)

WBUR: With Higher Stakes In The Abortion Debate, Activists March On Washington
On Friday, as they have for decades, anti-abortion rights activists marched through Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Supreme Court – a location that symbolizes the long-held goal of reversing the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the procedure nationwide in 1973. But this year's rally comes at a moment when many anti-abortion activists are feeling more hopeful about that goal, on the heels of the confirmation and swearing-in of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. (McCammon, 1/18)

CQ: Anti-Abortion Advocates Push Action On Nominations And Rules
Lawmakers and anti-abortion advocates who gathered Friday for the nation's largest annual anti-abortion rally say they are pivoting to a defensive strategy in Congress, with a focus on confirming conservative judges as legislation stalls. Thousands of advocates gathered to protest the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion. The event featured a surprise appearance by Vice President Mike Pence with second lady Karen Pence, and a video message from President Donald Trump. (Raman, 1/18)

Kaiser Health News: New House Democrats’ Focus On Abortion Rights Could Stymie Work With Senate
For the first time since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the House of Representatives has a majority supporting abortion rights. And that majority is already making its position felt, setting up what could be a series of long and drawn-out fights with a Senate opposed to abortion and stalling what could otherwise be bipartisan bills. Democrats have held majorities in the House for more than half of the years since abortion became a national political issue in the 1970s, but those majorities included a significant number of Democrats who opposed abortion or had mixed voting records on the issue. A fight among Democrats over abortion very nearly derailed the Affordable Care Act as it was becoming law in 2010. (Rovner, 1/22)

Politico Pro: Trump Poised To Finalize Conscience Protections For Health Workers
Health care workers would have more power to opt out of providing care based on their religious or moral beliefs under regulations that the Trump administration is working to finalize, perhaps even by Friday, two officials with knowledge of the plan tell POLITICO. The rule was posted to the White House budget office's regulatory dashboard on Thursday night and is awaiting approval. It "would bring an entire procedural enforcement regime around the 25 different protections of conscience that are in federal statute that have often laid too dormant," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said at an event hosted by the anti-abortion Family Research Council on Friday morning. (Diamond, 1/18)

The Associated Press: No Rehearing For Louisiana Abortion Law
A divided federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a decision upholding Louisiana's law requiring that abortion providers have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, despite a dissenting judge's insistence that the decision is in "clear conflict" with a Supreme Court decision striking down a similar Texas law. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in September, in a 2-1 decision, that the Louisiana law did not impose the same burdens on women as the Texas law. On Friday, the court said the full court decided in a 9-6 vote against a rehearing. (McGill, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Court Rules Against Planned Parenthood In Texas ‘Sting Videos’ Case, Bringing It A Step Closer To Getting Defunded
When Texas tried to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program based on “sting" videos produced by undercover antiabortion activists, a federal judge in Austin said the whole case sounded more as if it belonged in a “best-selling novel.” “Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas’s efforts to expel a group of health care providers from a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources,” U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote in February 2017. (Flynn, 1/18)

Austin American-Statesman: Planned Parenthood Still Part Of Texas Medicaid, For Now
The ruling in favor of Texas by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower-court order that blocked state efforts to oust Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, a federal-state program that provides health care to low-income people. The ruling can be enforced when the appeals court issues its mandate Feb. 8, the date Planned Parenthood expects to be removed as a provider offering contraceptives and other health care, but not abortions, under Medicaid. (Lindell, 1/18)