WASHINGTON – Abortion protesters marched though chilly Washington yesterday emboldened by Republican election gains they said gave new momentum to their 32-year fight to overturn Roe v. Wade. President Bush told them by phone, “This movement will not fail.”

Protest leaders said stronger Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and Mr. Bush’s re-election reflect the public’s support for more restrictions on abortion. Chief Justice Rehnquist’s battle with thyroid cancer injected a sense of urgency into this year’s demonstrations, nearly guaranteeing one retirement on the high court during Mr. Bush’s second term.

For his part, Mr. Bush played cheerleader in chief at a rally before the march, telling tens of thousands of anti-abortion protesters on the Ellipse that their approach to the debate this year would “change hearts and minds” of those still favoring abortion rights.

“This is the path of the culture of life that we seek for our country,” Mr. Bush said by phone from Camp David, Md.

Every anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, prompts demonstrations by opponents and supporters of abortion rights. Activists on both sides of the issue marched in demonstrations across the country Saturday, the actual anniversary of the January 22 decision.

Senator Clinton complained yesterday that the Bush administration is shortchanging family planning efforts and said that may be causing abortion rates to go up in some of the country.

The New York Democrat, considered a leading contender for the party’s 2008 White House nomination, told about 1,000 fellow abortion rights supporters that during her husband’s administration, family planning funding was a priority and “we saw the rate of abortion consistently fall.”

“But unfortunately in the last few years, while we are engaged in ideological debate instead of one that uses facts and evidence and common sense, the rate of abortion is on the rise in some states,” Mrs. Clinton said. “In the (first) three years since President Bush took office, eight states have seen an increase in abortion rates and four saw a decrease.”

Asked after her appearance if she felt Mr. Bush’s policies were directly responsible for increased abortion rates in some states, Clinton said she did not know if that was the case.

“We should try to figure out what the cause of that is, but personally I worry that we are not providing good information, comprehensive education, and access to services, so there may be some relationship,” the former first lady said.

For her part, Clinton said there should be more money for family planning services and contraception, and more emphasis on promoting teenage abstinence as a means of bringing about “a day when abortion is truly safe, legal, and rare.”

As they marched past bleachers left over from Mr. Bush’s inauguration, many abortion-rights opponents in Washington said they drew new confidence from the nation’s decision to reelect Mr. Bush – who opposes abortion in most cases – and to broaden the Republican majority in Congress.

The executive director of the National Right to Life Committee, David O’Steen, said the November 2 election shows the Supreme Court is out of step with the electorate on the issue. He said he was cautiously optimistic that the confluence of election results and Justice Rehnquist’s likely retirement – though Justice Rehnquist is an abortion-rights foe – would move the high court in abortion-opponents’ favor.

Separately yesterday, the Supreme Court struck on a more modest level on the side of abortion-rights supporters.

First, the justices let stand a lower court ruling that said South Carolina’s license plates, which bear the slogan “Choose Life,” violate the First Amendment because abortion-rights supporters weren’t given a similar forum to express their beliefs.

The court also refused yesterday to keep a severely brain-damaged woman, Terri Schiavo, hooked to a feeding tube – all but ending a long-running right-to-die battle pitting her husband against her parents.

It was the second time the Supreme Court dodged the politically charged case from Florida, where Governor Bush successfully lobbied the Legislature to pass a law to keep 41-year-old Terri Schiavo on life support.

At the Ellipse, with anti-abortion marchers, Ms. Schiavo’s father, Robert Schindler, called the decision “judicial homicide.” But her husband, Michael Schiavo, who contends his wife never wanted to be kept alive artificially, applauded the decision. The court’s action affects only Ms. Schiavo.