Ever since the Supreme Court ruled on the case Roe V. Wade in 1973, every Republican nominee for president has opposed abortion in some way.
Gerald Ford, the first Republican nominee after the decision, opposed Roe when he was House Minority Leader, and he kept that stance while running in 1976. Ronald Reagan signed one of the first abortion bills in the nation into law in 1967, while Governor of California. Yet he would eventually become a very anti-abortion president, elevating William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, two conservative, anti-abortion justices, to the Supreme Court. He proposed the “Right to Life” Amendment as well, an amendment stating that life starts at conception. It’s only exception was when the mothers life was in danger. While this amendment failed to be ratified, it still showed the progression of the Republican party into a staunchly anti-abortion party, and upon his nomination in 2016, Donald Trump seemed no different.
In 2016, despite switching his support from time to time, Trump looked no different from the Republican nominees that preceded him. He appointed Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, as the chair of his national “Pro-Life Coalition.” Trump also sent a letter to prominent anti-abortion leaders in the U.S., proclaiming that he would “nominate pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, sign into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, defund Planned Parenthood and make the Hyde Amendment permanent law.
His 2020 re-election campaign was no different. According to his website, “The President has kept the promises he made in 2016 to the pro-life community and has delivered unprecedented victories for the pro-life movement: He took executive action to stop taxpayer money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the country.” The website followed with “He reinstated and expanded the ban on Americans’ tax dollars paying for abortions in foreign countries. He is standing with the Catholic nuns known as the Little Sisters of the Poor, defending them from Obama-era regulations forcing them to violate their religious beliefs by providing health insurance that covers abortifacients.” Trump also appointed three justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett. All three voted for Dobbs V. Jackson, the case that would fully overturn Roe V. Wade.
Trump went into the 2024 campaign speaking a little differently on abortion, however. He came out in support of in vitro fertilization (IVF). He stated in a video to supporters that, “I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.” He would later in the same video state, “Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights… 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 would also hint in a later interview with NBC that he would be voting for a Florida abortion initiative, before stating officially that he would vote against it after he faced backlash for his initial statement.
All of this begs the question, is Donald Trump pro-life? The closest answer we have is sort of, but there are also multiple positions in the pro-life community to discuss. There is the belief that all life starts at conception and that the life of the baby should be protected. Some accept exceptions in cases of rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger and would be more comfortable with states having the right to regulate abortion. Others believe that life should be protected at all costs and that the act of abortion should be criminalized. Generally, abolitionists do not believe in exceptions that allow for abortion.
While it may be a discouraging reality to some, the truth is that Trump’s official position as a more moderate pro-life candidate stance is one that most Americans share. He is still not as pro-life as Republicans of the past. However, even for the most staunchly anti-abortion Republicans, he’s still a better option than his opponent.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Is Donald Trump Pro-Life?
Ever since the Supreme Court ruled on the case Roe V. Wade in 1973, every Republican nominee for president has opposed abortion in some way.
Gerald Ford, the first Republican nominee after the decision, opposed Roe when he was House Minority Leader, and he kept that stance while running in 1976. Ronald Reagan signed one of the first abortion bills in the nation into law in 1967, while Governor of California. Yet he would eventually become a very anti-abortion president, elevating William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, two conservative, anti-abortion justices, to the Supreme Court. He proposed the “Right to Life” Amendment as well, an amendment stating that life starts at conception. It’s only exception was when the mothers life was in danger. While this amendment failed to be ratified, it still showed the progression of the Republican party into a staunchly anti-abortion party, and upon his nomination in 2016, Donald Trump seemed no different.
In 2016, despite switching his support from time to time, Trump looked no different from the Republican nominees that preceded him. He appointed Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, as the chair of his national “Pro-Life Coalition.” Trump also sent a letter to prominent anti-abortion leaders in the U.S., proclaiming that he would “nominate pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, sign into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, defund Planned Parenthood and make the Hyde Amendment permanent law.
His 2020 re-election campaign was no different. According to his website, “The President has kept the promises he made in 2016 to the pro-life community and has delivered unprecedented victories for the pro-life movement: He took executive action to stop taxpayer money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the country.” The website followed with “He reinstated and expanded the ban on Americans’ tax dollars paying for abortions in foreign countries. He is standing with the Catholic nuns known as the Little Sisters of the Poor, defending them from Obama-era regulations forcing them to violate their religious beliefs by providing health insurance that covers abortifacients.” Trump also appointed three justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett. All three voted for Dobbs V. Jackson, the case that would fully overturn Roe V. Wade.
Trump went into the 2024 campaign speaking a little differently on abortion, however. He came out in support of in vitro fertilization (IVF). He stated in a video to supporters that, “I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.” He would later in the same video state, “Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights… 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 would also hint in a later interview with NBC that he would be voting for a Florida abortion initiative, before stating officially that he would vote against it after he faced backlash for his initial statement.
All of this begs the question, is Donald Trump pro-life? The closest answer we have is sort of, but there are also multiple positions in the pro-life community to discuss. There is the belief that all life starts at conception and that the life of the baby should be protected. Some accept exceptions in cases of rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger and would be more comfortable with states having the right to regulate abortion. Others believe that life should be protected at all costs and that the act of abortion should be criminalized. Generally, abolitionists do not believe in exceptions that allow for abortion.
While it may be a discouraging reality to some, the truth is that Trump’s official position as a more moderate pro-life candidate stance is one that most Americans share. He is still not as pro-life as Republicans of the past. However, even for the most staunchly anti-abortion Republicans, he’s still a better option than his opponent.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.