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Disappointed pro-life group says Trump ‘cedes the national debate to Democrats’

April 8, 2024 | | Print Article

Four years after becoming the first sitting president to attend the March for Life rally, a clarifying statement on abortion was seen by many as a gift to Democrats.

Opting for pale pastels in place of bold colors, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social Monday to amplify the “will of the people” with a states’ rights position on abortion legislation.

While the GOP leader took a firm and reasoned position from a constitutional standpoint that whatever voters decide in their own states “must be the law of the land” and acknowledged that “Many states will be different,” the nation’s largest pro-life advocacy organization was unsatisfied with stopping at the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Not long after Trump released his statement, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannesfelser released her own position that asserted:

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act.”

“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”

“With lives on the line, SBA Pro-Life America and the pro-life grassroots will work tirelessly to defeat President Biden and extreme congressional Democrats.”

 

The SBA statement pointed to polling that suggested seven in 10 Americans were in favor of “significant limits on abortion” and, mere days after Trump touted intent to declare a “Christian Visibility Day” and partnered with musician Lee Greenwood to sell a “God Bless The USA Bible,” the conservative non-profit CatholicVote remained optimistic that a second term for the Republican would require a “whole of government approach” to end the scourge of baby murder.

“The federal government cannot abandon women and children exploited by abortion. Leaving abortion policy to the states is not sufficient. While federal legislation on abortion policy is challenging at present, we are confident that a Trump administration will be staffed with pro-life personnel committed to pro-life policies, including conscience rights, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion and protections for pro-life states,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch said in a statement.

“Furthermore, no woman should face an unexpected pregnancy alone. We believe a new whole of government approach encouraging and supporting pregnant women to keep their children can be advanced under a new Trump administration,” he continued.

Noting the challenges of appealing to a broad coalition of voters, Burch went on, “President Trump’s latest statement also reflects the electoral minefield created by Democrat abortion fanaticism. The fact remains that pro-life voters need to win elections to protect mothers and children. Further, Democrats are now preparing a billion-dollar election year barrage with radical abortion as its centerpiece.”

“While Trump did not commit to any specific pro-life policies, he notably will not stand in the way of states that have acted to protect innocent children from the violent abortion industry,” he said, “President Trump rightfully praised the end of Roe v. Wade, and applauded the courage of those Supreme Court Justices by name who courageously overturned that decision. He also exposed the shocking extremism of ‘Catholic’ Joe Biden, who supports abortion for any reason, including painful late term abortion.”

“The contrast between Joe Biden and the Democrats and President Trump is unmistakable,” he reminded. “Pro-life voters have only one option in November.”

The non-profit leader’s optimism was not shared by Advancing American Freedom chair Marc Short who recognized the meaningful accomplishment of the overturn of Roe, but added that the movement “also needs leaders who acknowledge life begins at conception and will protect that fundamental right for all children, including those conceived in blue states like California.”

“Just as the states rights arguments were used to prolong a sad chapter in American history that denied fundamental God given rights to victims of slavery, today’s statement by President Trump reflects a political calculation that tries to avoid confronting the fundamental evil of snuffing out innocent life and continues the former president’s drift away from the conservative achievements of his own Administration,” said Short.

Meanwhile, as congressional ally South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) diplomatically opposed Trump’s position, pro-life leaders like Abby Johnson and the March for Life were more direct in sounding off against the statement.

“Every Life Is Valuable And Deserves To Be Protected,” and, “Every unborn life deserves protection at the national level,” fired off March for Life as Johnson asserted, “This is your reminder that politicians don’t decide when life begins. God does. It begins at conception.”

Kevin Haggerty
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