(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has been criticized by an influential conservative group for failing to declare himself in favor of federal limits on abortion.
According to the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America nonprofit, which says it unites over 1 million anti-abortion Americans, federal law should limit abortion to the 15th week of pregnancy at most, and Trump should agree with that position.
“Life is a matter of human rights, not states’ rights. Saying that the issue should only be decided at the states is an endorsement of abortion up until the moment of birth,” the group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, declared in a statement.
“We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections,” she added, as cited by The National Review.
According to a report by The Washington Post, Trump has refused to talk publicly about abortion despite prompting from his advisers.
The leftist newspaper asked the Trump campaign about the former president’s stance on Florida’s six-week abortion ban.
The response referred to the June 2022 ruling of the US Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and once again made abortion a state-level issue.
“Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the state level,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said.
He touted the former president’s appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices who would later overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Republicans have been trying to get this done for 50 years, but were unable to do so. President Trump, who is considered the most pro-life President in history, got it done,” Cheung said.
“He will continue these policies when reelected to the White House. Like President Reagan before him, President Trump supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” the spokesman added.
However, those comments were not satisfactory to anti-abortion groups, who were also unhappy that Trump’s 2024 candidacy speech did not mention abortion.
“President Trump’s assertion that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion solely to the states is a completely inaccurate reading of the Dobbs decision and is a morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold,” Dannenfelser said at the start of her statement.
“His silence spoke very loudly to the pro-life movement. We were pretty disappointed,” Kristan Hawkins, president of the pro-life group Students for Life, told WaPo.
Among current and potential GOP nomination candidates, former Vice President Mike Pence seems to be the only one to have supported Florida’s new six-week abortion law vocally.
“I want to commend Florida and their governor for moving the heartbeat bill. I’m pro-life; I don’t apologize for it,” Pence said.
Other current or likely bidders, such as former US Ambassador Nikki Haley or US Senator Tim Scott, have avoided direct answers or have said abortion should be a state rights matter.
"We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard," SBA Pro-Life America said in a statement. | @JeffZymeri https://t.co/M7auO3rKUw
— National Review (@NRO) April 20, 2023
