The Republican once hailed as the most successful pro-life president in American history made clear on Monday that he is softening his position on abortion and beefing up his support for in vitro fertilization ahead of the 2024 general election.
Former President Donald Trump has a history of criticizing heartbeat bills when they come from his political rivals, misrepresenting the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs v. Jackson decision, and wrongfully blaming Republicans’ 2022 midterm losses on their unapologetically pro-life positions. His recent declaration on “abortion rights” only further confirms that his once-celebrated pro-life track record doesn’t meet voters’ demands of a Republican president.
What Trump Gets Right
Most of Trump’s roughly four-and-a-half-minute video statement is littered with cons, but let’s start with the pros of his message. Trump opened his short speech with a passionate call for “strong, thriving, and healthy American families.”
“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers, and their beautiful babies,” Trump said.
The GOP leader is right that prioritizing preborn life and families is good for children, parents, and society. To be on the side of the miracle of life, however, you have to be against ending it — something Trump’s abortion and IVF positions entail.
Trump did not address this contradiction in his video. Instead, he championed the end of Roe v. Wade as one of his biggest presidential victories and celebrated his role in nominating the justices who decided the Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
