Donald Trump's position on abortion has always been complex. Despite being proud of his role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, he's been critical of state bans that he considers too extreme. To clarify his position on abortion, Trump made a statement on Monday on Truth Social, in which he affirmed his belief that abortion should be up to the states to regulate, effectively taking a federal ban on abortion off the table if he's elected.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” Trump explained. “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. 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 this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart, or in many cases, your religion or your faith."
Trump also said that he supports exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
Another issue in the abortion debate is in vitro fertilization (IVF), which became a hot-button issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos created through IVF should be considered children — triggering many on the left. Trump addressed that issue upfront in his statement.
"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 explained. "And our great Republican Party will always be with you in your quest for the ultimate joy in life."
Trump acknowledged that not everyone would be happy with his position but implored pro-life conservatives to understand that unless the Republican Party adopts a mainstream position on the issue, they won't be in a position to change the culture surrounding abortion.
"You must follow your heart on this issue but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and in fact to save our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline," he said. "Our nation needs help. It needs unity. It needs us all to work closely together… we have to bring our nation back from the brink… and we will, we will do it, I promise you."
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, wasn't happy with Trump's statement.
“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," Dannenfelser said in a statement. “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.
Despite the disagreement, SBA Pro-Life America will go to the mattresses with Biden and the Democrats. “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," she said.
So the real question here is, will this help or hurt Trump? I think there will be plenty of pro-life voters who won't be happy that Trump is trying to find a middle ground on abortion, but, as SBA Pro-Life America makes clear, they know which candidate is worse.
On top of that, polls have consistently shown that Americans generally believe abortion should be legal but with limits on it. Support for abortion drops significantly each trimester, placing a gestational limit of 12 to 15 weeks firmly in the mainstream. This means that Democrats who support abortion until birth are the real extremists on the issue, but Republicans haven't been able to fully capitalize on this because full abortion bans in various red states have given Democrats ammunition against the GOP.
Abortion was fully legal in this country for decades. With that in mind, bringing us back to a time when abortions are rare will take time, and if the pro-life movement pushes too hard, it will never be in a position to do anything about abortion at all. I know many don't want to hear this, but it's true.
