Thousands of anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington on Friday for the annual "March for Life" rally, seven months after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the nation's top court. 

The 1973 decision protected a woman's right to an abortion on a nationwide level. It's reversal sparked an outcry among large swathes of the US public, yet anti-abortion campaigners are demanding stricter restrictions at the state and national levels on the procedure.   

"We want it to be unthinkable for a woman to have an abortion," activist Tammy Milligan, who was present at the rally, told AP news agency. 

The "March for Life" rally began in 1974 as a challenge to Roe v. Wade. Every January, activists from across the United States have descended upon the capital to urge the Supreme Court justices to reverse that decision, with their wish being granted last year. 

Past the high court, they are now setting their sights at the US Capitol, aiming for federal anti-abortion legislation.

Abortion opponents urge more restrictions in post-Roe era

Carrying banners proclaiming "I demand protection at conception" and "abortion is genocide," the participants at the rally asked for all states to ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

"I believe that, just like we wouldn't want to murder anybody out here, we wouldn't want to see any of these lives hurt or lost," Rob McNutt, a pastor from Maryland, told Reuters news agency.

"We are celebrating the end of Roe, but we still have to convert all people's minds," 61-year-old Barbara Countryman told AFP news agency. "I'll be here every year until I die. It's never going stop — it will always be a battle."

The issue is expected to be a focal point of the 2024 presidential elections as anti-abortion activists are screening potential candidates over their opinions on the matter.

Newly-elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also expressed his support in a statement, affirming that the new Republican majority would assist opponents of abortion rights.

"While others raise their voices in rage and hatred, you march with prayers, goodwill, fellowship, compassion, and devotion in defense of the most defenseless in this country," McCarthy said.

Biden promises to defend abortion rights

The White House, meanwhile, has pledged to protect access to abortion. 

US President Joe Biden, on the approaching fiftieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, lamented last year's reversal and said, "Never before has the Court taken away a right so fundamental to Americans."

"In doing so, it put the health and lives of women across this Nation at risk." 

His statement said he would keep using his executive power to defend abortion rights and urged the Congress to codify such rights.

Since June's reveral of Roe v. Wade, 12 states have implemented complete abortion bans with few exceptions, and two more states have made abortion unavailable, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research and advocacy organization.

Several of the bans are now facing legal challenges.

ss/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters)