US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday in front of the press pardoning 23 individuals who faced criminal charges under the previous administration for participating in anti-abortion protests.

These persons “should not have been prosecuted,” he said, adding “it is a great honor to sign this.”

The decision was announced on the eve of a planned anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C., dubbed the “March for Life.”

The POTUS plans to participate via video link, according to press reports. Vice President J. D. Vance is expected to attend as well.

Donald Trump has preferred to remain deliberately vague during his campaign on the issue – a…”hot potato” from a political standpoint – of abortion rights.

While the Christian right calls for federal restrictions, up to and including an outright ban on abortion, the Republican says he wants to leave those decisions to the states, which now have the authority to legislate on the issue.

He has, however, expressed satisfaction repeatedly for helping, through his Supreme Court appointments, to overturn the constitutional guarantee of the right to abortion decided by the nation’s top judicial institution in June 2022.

After the right’s protection was overturned, some twenty states governed by conservatives banned or severely restricted access to pregnancy termination procedures.