US President Donald Trump has praised the “beautiful” pro-life cause and thanked the movement for its support for pregnant women in a live address to the Washington March for Life. The President told the marchers: “You come from many backgrounds, many places, but you all come for one beautiful cause: to build a society where life is celebrated, protected and cherished. The March for Life is a movement born out of love. “You love every child, born and unborn, because you believe that every life is sacred, that every child is a precious gift from God,” the President added. “Because of you, tens of thousands of Americans have been born and reached their full God-given potential. Because of you.” President Trump said he was “honoured and really proud” to address the march, adding that the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision legalising abortion resulted in “some of the most permissive abortion laws anywhere in the world”, comparable to North Korea and China. “It is wrong, it has to change,” the President said. “Americans are more and more pro-life.” The President also gave strong support to a bill before the House of Representatives that would ban late-term abortions where the unborn child can feel pain. His speech came a day after he announced a new office to safeguard the rights of medical staff who conscientiously object to procedures such as abortions and sex-change operations on religious grounds. The office, which will be part of the Department of Health, will enforce existing laws to make sure medical institutions respect their employees’ religious beliefs. Previous presidents such as Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush also addressed the March for Life, but Donald Trump was the first to do so by video link. Trump used to describe himself as pro-choice and once endorsed partial-birth abortion. In 2011 he said he changed his mind thanks to the experience of a friend who was dismayed when his wife became pregnant. They had the baby, who ended up being “the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him”.