Anti-abortion group aligns with Trump
Comes amid criticisms of his stand on procedure
HOUSTON – The leader of a major anti-abortion group aligned herself Monday with former President Donald Trump on the issue, weeks after raising questions about his commitment to restricting access to the procedure.
Calling her meeting Monday with Trump “terrific,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America group, said in a statement that he “reiterated that any federal legislation protecting these children would need to include the exceptions for life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest.”
The characterization of the meeting – which Dannenfelser’s group said happened at Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida – marked a turnaround from more than two weeks ago. Then, Dannenfelser called Trump’s contention that abortion restrictions should be left up to individual states, not the federal government, a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.”
Dannenfelser’s group has said it would not support any White House candidate who did not at a minimum support a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Trump has referred to himself as “the most pro-life president in American history,” as his three nominations of conservative judges to the Supreme Court paved the way for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which had legalized abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years.
But in the early months of his 2024 bid, Trump has often sidestepped the issue of abortion, even as Republicans across the country celebrate the Supreme Court decision stripping federal constitutional rights to the practice.
All the candidates running in the Republican presidential primary or moving toward a bid have supported state bans on abortion. Most have been much more cautious about staking a position on a nationwide ban, though entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign has said he believes it’s an issue for the states, not the federal government.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who has launched a presidential exploratory committee and is expected to enter the race later this month, has said he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected president.
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis last month signed a state abortion ban that, if upheld by the courts, would ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they are pregnant. It will take effect only if the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservatives, upholds Florida’s current 15week ban, which is part of an ongoing legal challenge.
The Florida ban would be one of the toughest in the U.S. But Desantis has not made clear his position on whether such restrictions should be imposed across the country.
Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and one-time United Nations ambassador, has called abortion a “personal issue” that should be left to the states, though she has left open the possibility of a federal ban.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who as governor signed a law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, has said he would sign a federal ban but stopped short of saying what timelines he would support as president.
Trump’s stance has provided an opening on the right for potential rivals like former Vice President Mike Pence, an evangelical Christian with long-held anti-abortion views. Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, has pushed for Congress to pass legislation including a national abortion ban beginning around six weeks.