Donald TrumpI have never taken a principled stance on abortion.And pro-life activists have always I knew that.
But last week, their strange arranged marriage On the brink of collapseAnd the more Trump talked, the worse it got.
One of the reasons for this collapse is that former President He knows his reelection campaign faces challenges.Vote now show He is tied or second behind Kamala Harris, with the momentum heavily in her favor.
Trump has yet to figure out how to steer the ship in the right direction, as evidenced by his comments over the past week on reproductive rights. A moderate and pragmatic stance About abortion, he then Intensifying opposition This shift in attitude is due to the fact that Republican candidates are A strong desire to transcend Overturned Roe v. Wade and established a nationwide ban on abortion. It happened under his watch.
Trump's shifting stance on reproductive rights is one of the reasons he is struggling to garner enough support from women to ensure victory in November's presidential election. Lead A recent CBS News poll found Harris has the support of men, 54 percent to 45 percent, but she is losing to women, 56 percent to 44 percent.
The report said Harris received “a higher percentage of the vote among women who want to legalize abortion,” and 51% of voters said a candidate's stance on abortion would be a “major factor” in deciding who to support in November.
April, The Wall Street Journal said“Abortion is the most powerful issue motivating suburban women to decide the presidential election.” vote Of the seven battleground statesFound “Thirty-nine percent of suburban women say abortion is an issue that will decide whether they vote or not, making it the most motivating issue for this group. Nearly three-quarters of women say abortion should be legal, and majorities believe Trump's policies are too restrictive.”
Trump is not the only Republican who is undecided on the issue: A Brookings Institution survey found that many Republicans are undecided on the issue. Observe“They're struggling to escape the abortion ban they've been trying to win for decades.”
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) was the first,” Brooking continues. “In the fall of 2022, just months after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Graham introduced a bill that would have called for a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. So far, the bill has not gone anywhere.”
But Trump's troubles on the issue of abortion have become particularly visible in recent days, angering some of his most ardent supporters.
On Thursday, he Criticized Florida's six-week abortion ban is up for a vote in November. “I think six weeks is too short. I need more time. I told them that. I want a longer period,” Trump said.
“Look,” he continued, “people have wanted Roe v. Wade repealed for years. 52 years. And I made it happen. People wanted it returned to the states.”
What Trump seems to forget (or ignore) is that many pro-life activists compare Leaving abortion up to the states mirrors the cowardly stance of those who tried to leave slavery up to the states before the Civil War. They argue that Trump's opposition to a nationwide six-week abortion ban “erases any recognition that the tiny creature inside the womb has human status and that its wounds 'matter.'”
Predictably, the backlash from pro-life activists was immediate and fierce.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Organization of America, said: said Trump's stance Thursday “completely undermines his position. Anyone who believes there should be a different line drawn should vote against the Fourth Amendment, unless they want no line drawn at all.”
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life in America, joined the chorus of pro-life criticism. Assert “Obviously I don't want to be pro-life anymore. Pro-lifers are being lied to,” Trump said.
On Friday, Trump appeared to get the message. He tried to retract his statementHe said he would vote against the Florida ballot measure, describing it as “extreme.” Falsely Assert This means that you can have an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy.
Trump has made further disingenuous statements about his pro-life stance. said On August 23, he declared, “My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” This surprising declaration was published in Politico's It is called “His campaign was overly fanatical.Reset the storyIn his race against Vice President Kamala Harris, he has taken a more moderate stance on the abortion issue that has plagued Republican elections.Roe v. WadeThat was overturned in 2022.”
Trump's use of the term “reproductive rights” was harsh: Democrats often use the term “as a proxy for abortion,” but according to Politico, “Republicans rarely talk about abortion in that way.”
President Trump further deepened the rift among pro-life activists with his comments last week.About IVF treatment. he Proudly observed “I've always been in favor of IVF, from the very beginning, from the moment I heard about it.”
This came as a shock to many pro-lifers, who oppose certain parts of the IVF process. Discard any unused embryos.Trump further added: An expensive procedureBut he said he supports public funding for in vitro fertilization. “We're doing this,” Trump said. said“Just because I think it's awesome.”
But his comments about IVF or Florida's six-week abortion ban should not have shocked them.
According to a report from the New York Times: NotesPresident Trump's on-and-off anti-abortion stance goes back a long way: “In 1999, at age 53, Donald J. Trump described himself as 'very pro-life' in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press. In 2011, without any explanation for the change, he announced to a packed conservative conference that he was now 'anti-abortion.'”
Five years later, during his first presidential campaign,said MSNBC's Chris Matthews “He would even support punishment for women who have abortions.”
Trump last week “Once again, they've painted themselves into a corner.”He is also trying to navigate an increasingly precarious electoral politics while pleasing pro-life allies who, if they ever needed a reminder, should now know with clarity that he will say and do anything to regain political power.
As they try to figure out what to do about the former president in November, they should remember the old warning: “Buyer beware.”
Austin SurrattHe is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Political Science at Amherst College. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Amherst College.
