The leading pro-life advocacy organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said Monday it was “deeply disappointed” in former president Donald Trump’s Monday announcement laying out his position on abortion policy, which he argued should be left to the states rather than being adjudicated at the federal level, as SBA prefers.
“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,” said SBA president Marjorie Dannenfelser.
Dannenfelser argued the former president’s refusal to endorse federal abortion restrictions hands a victory to Democrats “who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy,” she said. “If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”
Trump posted the four-minute video statement on his Truth Social platform Monday morning, touting the role he played in building the Supreme Court’s conservative majority which overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said.
“Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others and that’s what they will be,” he continued. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the will of the people.”
During the GOP presidential primary, SBA challenged the candidates to endorse a federal 15-week abortion ban of the kind introduced last year by Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.).
Trump notably declined to endorse the federal 15-week ban, which some of his conservative allies have backed. He also reiterated his support for in vitro fertilization. In February, the Alabama supreme court held that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, causing Alabama to protect IFV treatments through new legislation.
“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies. IVF is an important part of that,” Trump said.
Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, at least 70 percent of Americans favor significant limits on abortion, according to multiple post-Dobbs polls compiled by SBA. For example, Morning Consult found that 67 percent of voters support protections for unborn children up to 15 weeks when pain can be felt. According to the Tarrance Group, 59 percent of voters say they would support Congress passing national legislation to protect the unborn after 15 weeks.
CatholicVote, one of the nation’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, said letting only states decide abortion policy “is not sufficient” but expressed optimism in Trump’s commitment to the voter issue.
“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. 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,” CatholicVote president Brian Burch said Monday.
“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.”
CatholicVote endorsed Trump for the presidency during the New Hampshire GOP primary in January.
“The contrast between Joe Biden and the Democrats and President Trump is unmistakable,” Burch added. “Pro-life voters have only one option in November.”