President Trump’s Pro-Life Commitment Called Into Question

On September 17, 2023, former President Donald Trump was interviewed by Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” During the interview, Welker questioned President Trump about his position on abortion. While President Trump sometimes refers to himself as “the most pro-life president in American history,” his remarks during this interview raised major concerns about the depth of his commitment to the pro-life cause.

President Trump told Welker that if elected president next year, he “‘would sit down with both sides” of the abortion issue, would “‘negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years.’” According to the former president, he would work to ban abortion after a certain number of weeks’ gestation and would find a cutoff point that would make both sides “‘happy.’” President Trump argued that it is essential for pro-life elected officials to embrace exceptions to pro-life laws in cases involving rape, incest, or danger to a mother’s life; in his view, pro-lifers will not win public support for their cause without such exceptions. President Trump also stressed the importance of banning late-term abortions. When asked whether he would sign a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation, he declined to state his position. President Trump did, however, say that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had made a “‘terrible mistake’” by signing the Florida Heartbeat Law, which bans abortions after six weeks’ gestation.

Jason J. McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, made the following comments: “A truly pro-life candidate would never call the passage of a strong pro-life law a ‘terrible mistake.’” Also, a truly pro-life candidate would not refuse to commit to signing pro-life legislation like a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation. Pro-life voters are not looking for a presidential candidate who tries to find nonexistent common ground with Democratic Party leaders who march in lockstep to the beat of Planned Parenthood’s drum. We are looking for a presidential candidate who is willing to lead on this issue and who will fight to protect the unborn to the maximum extent possible.”