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While visiting Grand Rapids, Michigan, President Donald Trump surprised the press by stating that he would be announcing his official stance on abortion next week, on the heels of a controversial abortion ban that the Florida State Supreme Court just upheld.
According to the Associated Press, the court’s decision upheld a 15-week abortion ban, which will allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) six-week abortion ban to go into effect following the ruling on the initial 15-week legislation.
President Donald Trump, for his part, has never deviated from his stance on the divisive issue of abortion. Since hitting the campaign trail in 2015, he shared that he was a pro-life president who was in favor of the three exceptions: rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
In the past, he discussed the political ramifications of DeSantis’s six-week “heartbeat bill” in Florida, noting that nationwide, early abortion legislation was a “mistake” in terms of political strategy for politicians hoping to win elections.
Trump has been active in the pro-life community and was even the first sitting U.S. president in history to attend the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. His appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices also paved the way for the termination of Roe v. Wade, which brought the abortion issue back to the states – a huge victory for the pro-life movement.
He has also pointedly noted his opposition to “abortion on demand” and late-term abortion, calling both “demented” last year during remarks delivered at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference.
Ahead of Trump’s anticipated policy stance announcement on the issue, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser released an official statement.
She noted that Trump had “consistently advocated for protecting babies from painful late term abortions,” but said to expect that Democrats would “fearmonger and lie about the Republican position, denouncing any limits whatsoever on abortion as a ‘national ban,’ even while they refuse to tell the truth about their own radical stance.”
She added, “We have every hope and indication President Trump will argue for a 15-week minimum standard.”
Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins also urged Trump to put his support behind stricter regulation on abortion.
She wrote, “But we strongly urge President Trump not to endorse a federal late-term limit on abortion at 15 weeks or later. It’s morally wrong. It doesn’t move the ball forward as it offers support for more than 9 in 10 abortions & it sets up a politically divisive fight when we all need to focus on the abortion extremism of the Democratic Party that will not name a single limit on abortion.”
Hawkins also posited, “Personnel is policy. President Trump can pledge to restore a life-affirming government with his picks of VEEP and heads of HHS, DOJ, & FDA to name a few.”
GOP voters overwhelmingly support protections for unborn babies, according to Morning Consult (67 percent), but finding a middle ground with moderate voters and Democrats has often proven to be far more difficult.
RSBN previously reported that a 2023 Gallup poll found that only 13 percent of Americans today believe that abortion should be “illegal in all circumstances,” but 51 percent agree that it should be legal only “under certain circumstances.”
A blanket abortion ban seems to be very unpopular with the electorate. However, most Americans support regulations. In fact, SBA’s own data shows that almost six in every 10 American voters would support Congressional legislation protecting babies after 15 weeks in the womb, as long as the three aforementioned exceptions are included.
It’s hard to predict exactly where President Trump will land on the issue when he makes his official policy announcement, but he has been very clear in the past that it’s “very delicate and explaining it properly is an extremely important thing.”
