Mixed response from anti-abortion groups to Trump criticism of ‘heartbeat’ laws
Gabrielle M. Etzel
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Anti-abortion activists are giving a mixed response to former President Donald Trump‘s criticism of restrictive red-state abortion policies, with some groups reticent to criticize the leading candidate in the 2024 Republican primary.
In a Sunday interview on NBC, Trump called the six-week abortion ban in Florida signed into law by his chief Republican rival, Gov. Ron Desantis (R-FL), “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” Several Republican governors have implemented similar “heartbeat” abortion restrictions in the wake of last year’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision that there is no constitutional right to abortion.
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Trump also equivocated on whether he would support an abortion limit at 15 weeks gestation, the point at which most physicians agree that a fetus can feel pain in the same way as an adult.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told the Washington Examiner that not supporting a 15-week gestational limit “makes no sense,” but she did not directly criticize Trump for his lack of clarity.
“We’re at a moment where we need a human rights advocate, someone who is dedicated to saving the lives of children and serving mothers in need. Every single candidate should be clear on how they plan to do that,” Dannenfelser said.
In July, Dannenfelser called out DeSantis’s position that he would not sign a national-level abortion ban as “unacceptable” but did not use the same strength of language for the former president.
Several other anti-abortion organizations, including the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, and Focus on the Family, did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
When asked about Trump’s abortion policy, Americans United for Life also did not comment on Trump’s policy agenda.
“We owe protection to preborn Americans at every stage of gestation,” Harry Scherer of Americans United for Life told the Washington Examiner. “Americans United for Life is proud to stand with pro-life governors and legislators enacting lifesaving legislation in their jurisdictions …. Pro-life Americans will not rest until the federal government recognizes the equal protection of the law afforded to every preborn American.”
In the NBC interview, Trump took credit for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and said it’s “from a legal standpoint … probably better” if abortion stays in state jurisdiction.
“Everybody, including the great legal scholars, love the idea of Roe v. Wade terminated so it can be brought back to the states,” Trump said, “but I can live with it either way. … The number of weeks is much more important.”
Trump said that he sought a national conversation on abortion to settle on “something that’s acceptable” with respect to gestational age limits. “I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years.”
Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Policy Alliance, openly criticized the former president on X, formerly Twitter, for his Art of the Deal tactics on the salient social issue.
“When a leader doesn’t have convictions on the most basic right of all, the right to life, this is what you get,” Vander Plaats wrote. “The ‘let’s make a deal’ message isn’t a win for babies and it won’t win the POTUS.”
Lila Rose, president of Live Action, also took to X to condemn Trump’s equivocation on gestational limits as “pathetic and unacceptable.”
“Trump wants to compromise on babies’ lives so pro-abort Dems ‘like him,'” Rose said. “Trump should not be the GOP nominee.”
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A recent Axios poll also found that while 51% support abortion up to 15 weeks gestation, support for abortion at 24 weeks drops down to 27%. Only 43% of Democrats support third-trimester abortion as well.
The RealClearPolitics polling average as of Monday has Trump up 43.9 percentage points over DeSantis and the other candidates in the race.