Donald Trump, in his first term, was one of the most Pro-life Presidents in U.S history.
But is he still pro-life?
I am Catholic. I am pro-life! From the moment of conception I believe that what is in the womb is a human being. It is never okay to kill any human being no matter what their stage of life. I would like to see a law where abortion would never be allowed. But that's not what most Americans believe. The country is divided.
In the latest Knights of Columbus Marist Poll, 58`percent of the respondents were pro choice and 40 percent were pro-life. Nine percent of Americans agree with me that abortion should never be allowed. Twenty-nine percent are at the other extreme that abortion should be available to a woman anytime she wants one during her entire pregnancy. Most Americans fall somewhere in the middle. They want abortions but with restrictions such as allowing them only during the first six months, allowing them only during the first three months, allowing them only in cases of rape or incest, or allowing them only to save the life of the mother.
Past history has shown that Trump is pro-life. He even takes credit for appointing Supreme Court Justice who overturned Roe v. Wade, saying that he was “proudly the person responsible for the ending” of the constitutional right to an abortion.
But this year he and the Republican Party are taking a more moderate approach. Trump, who has advocated for a national 15 week abortion ban has now backed down from that position instead suggesting that we leave it up to the states and the will of the people.
That's because taking an approach that is too extreme possibly hurts conservatives and pro-lifers at the ballot box where pro-lifers are losing. It would be political suicide.
They’ve been defeated in every state referendum so far, and Republicans fear a backlash in support of abortion rights will hurt GOP candidates, too, possibly costing the party the presidential contest. We know that all too well here in Kansas. We lost the Value Them Both amendment and had a pro-abortion government re-elected in 2022.
After Republicans' disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections, Trump complained that his party's candidates had "lost large numbers of Voters" because they "poorly handled" the "abortion issue," especially when they "firmly insisted on No Exceptions." Republican politicians who share Trump's concern were relieved when he helped neutralize this electoral liability by accepting a wide range of state policies.
Trump urged the GOP lawmakers not to run away from the abortion debate, a posture that he said cost Republicans as many as 40 seats in the midterm elections, one source in the room told CNN.
“Republicans are so afraid of the issue,” Trump said, according to the source.
He emphasized the importance of supporting exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother – a call to neutralize Democratic attacks that have framed his party as “extreme” on reproductive rights
Pro-lifers have been critical of Trump. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, was "deeply disappointed" by Trump's position, while Live Action founder Lila Rose flatly declared that "President Trump is not a pro-life candidate."
Even if Trump moved only to rescind President Joe Biden’s wave of executive actions on abortion access and reimplement his own first-term actions, the effect would likely be far greater in the absence of federal protections for the procedure.
Among Trump allies, there’s no expectation he’d follow a different path from the one trod during his first four years.
Among the abortion actions that Trump has vowed to reimplement and reenforce, is reviving the so-called Mexico City policy. The Reagan-era rule restricts foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive assistance from the US from providing abortion services or information. Under an expansion of the policy under Trump, groups were barred from providing any abortion care, even with non-US funds, lest they risk losing American support altogether.
It was one of several key anti-abortion actions the Trump administration executed on the global stage.
Biden rescinded the policy in his first days in office.
A second Trump term would also put back in place and expand restrictions on Title X grants – federal funds for public and nonprofit groups that provide family planning.
While that funding is already barred from being used to pay for abortion clinics, the Trump administration’s restrictions sharply curtailed the number of providers who utilized the program – by more than 25%, per some estimates provided by abortion rights groups. “His first term was disastrous for reproductive rights and freedoms — including devastating changes to Title X which left far too many people without access to essential sexual and reproductive health care,” Julie Lewis, the director of public policy at Planned Parenthood Votes, told CNN. “A second term would be catastrophic for freedom and liberty.”
The Trump administration also took several actions to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which provides coverage for preventative services and birth control for millions of women, and it slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program at the HHS.
Resurrecting these actions in a second Trump term would almost entirely be up to the discretion of whomever he appoints to lead the relevant federal agencies.
There are some pro-lifers who still support Trump. “He’s a pro-life president,” former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News days after Trump released his statement on Truth Social. “I believe he’ll be a pro-life president in the future also.”
Pro-lifers upset with Trump have mistaken their situation. Since The Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the rules have changed. The landscape has changed They’re not missing an opportunity to declare a universal right to life; they’re rather in a pitched battle to stop the other side from re-establishing a universal right to abortion.
It’s a battle they’ll lose without allies like Trump. Pro-lifers need Trump. What's important is that Republicans save the nation first. Trump understands that. He's being realistic.
He can do them no good if he doesn't get re-elected. He can do them no good if we don't increase our majority in the House. He can do them no good if he doesn't take back the Senate.
That’s what Frank Pavone of Priests For Life says in this video. Lets concentrate on getting back in power first. Even though our ultimate goal is to get to a point where there are no abortions. Lets save the nation first. The country is divided. I showed you that above. Once we take back control of the country then we let the will of the people determine the policy on abortion
https://www.youtube.com/live/KgikKOQppp8?si=opBNRnDZhMf9_DhV
In this video Frank Pavone and Bishop Joseph Strickland discuss the issue. They come to the conclusion that although it's important that our end goal be no abortions we must get there incrementally. To use a football analogy, go for the first down, instead of the touchdown.
https://youtu.be/vD42HRqNCxI?si=kkOtsry4cfyKA56f
That makes sense to me. It took us 50 years overturn Roe v. Wade. Is Trump pro-life? I think so but he's also realistic.
