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5 Pro-Life Leaders Weigh In on Trump’s Abortion Comments

  • Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
  • Updated Sep 04, 2024
5 Pro-Life Leaders Weigh In on Trump’s Abortion Comments

Republican nominee Donald Trump has stirred controversy and confusion over his position on abortion in recent days, leading the pro-life community to question not only what he believes but also to question how they should vote in the upcoming election.

The controversy began when he led the charge to remove pro-life language from the Republican platform. Around the same time, he said he would not block access to the abortion pill if elected. His running mate, J.D. Vance, followed that by saying Trump would not sign a national abortion ban. Trump also said he would require insurance companies to cover IVF and that his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights.”

Last week, Trump seemed to imply he would vote for a pro-choice Florida initiative, Amendment 4, before clarifying the next day and telling Fox News he would be voting “no” on the amendment.

The pro-life confusion comes just three years after Trump exited the White House as what many labeled the “most pro-life president in history,” having spoken in person at the March for Life -- the first president in history to do so -- and having nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

Here is what five national pro-life leaders have said about Trump’s recent abortion comments.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Bill Pugliano/Stringer

  • Albert Mohler

    1. Albert Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

    “Right up front, let me start with an honest admission,” Mohler wrote in a World Opinions column. “Put plainly, I have no idea what Donald J. Trump really believes about abortion. I follow that up with the honest guess that the former President also has little idea what he really believes about abortion. By his own description, his politics are transactional, and his basic political framework is a combination of personality and populism. In terms of the coming election, what matters most when it comes to abortion and a host of other issues is what a Trump administration would do as compared to a Kamala Harris administration. That, dear reader, is a much clearer picture.

    “... It does seem that Trump at least understands that he cannot possibly win if pro-life voters sit this election out. Back to what Trump actually believes about abortion. I still have no confidence that I know. But I do know two things that loom large. The first is that a Harris win would mean we would have the most pro-abortion administration in American history. Even as Trump underlines his opposition to federal legislation on abortion, Harris demands a federal abortion rights bill -- and such a bill would go far, far beyond Roe. Just look to Minnesota for confirmation. The second thing I know is that a Trump administration would be light-years more pro-life than a Harris administration in terms of policies, legislative moves, appointments, and nominations. That’s an honest assessment. In my view, this is only stating out loud what should be obvious to any honest observer.

    “... The bottom line is what a Trump administration would do compared to what a Harris administration will do when it comes to the defense of unborn life. We easily see a huge difference there, and it takes massive dishonesty to deny it. Sadly, dishonesty is all around us, and the media will exploit it.

    “Trump recently commented that abortion is not ‘an issue that runs toward us.’ But he needs to remember that he cannot win without strong -- very strong -- pro-life support. The other side is not impressed with his equivocations on the issue, even as his base is endangered by any confusion. Pro-life voters do care what Donald Trump believes about abortion, but those same voters are far more concerned about what Trump would do in the Oval Office once again. He has precious few days to make that clear, knowing that the key question is not how many pro-abortion voters will vote against him but how many pro-life voters will vote for him.”

    Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Albert Mohler

  • Tony Perkins

    2. Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

    “Voting no on Florida’s Amendment 4 is a good first step for President Trump to restore confidence with pro-life voters,” Perkins said on X (formerly Twitter). 

    “He runs the risk of de-energizing, de-motivating his base by moving away from an issue that has been and continues to be a prominent issue,” Perkins told CBS News. “Backing away from that fundamental issue that the party has championed for 45 years is a big deal.” 

    Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Agape Women’s Clinic

  • Carl Tobias

    3. Carol Tobias, President, National Right to Life

    “Let’s be blunt. Donald Trump has said some things we don’t want to hear. Is he turning his back on the pro-life movement? I don’t think so,” Tobias wrote in a column for National Right to Life News Today. “He is a candidate who wants to get elected. He was a friend during his years in the White House, but I’m not sure anyone thought of him as a ‘member’ of the pro-life movement. He might be described as practical as transactional. He benefited from our help; we benefited from his help. It was a mutually advantageous relationship.

    “First and foremost, Trump appointed three justices who made the reversal of Roe possible. But he did much more. While Trump was President, we were able to strengthen conscience protections for medical personnel who did not want to participate in an abortion or assisted suicide. We stopped our tax dollars from going to organizations that perform and/or promote abortions in other countries. We created a working group for countries around the world that did not want to bow to pro-abortion pressure from the UN.

    “... While some in the pro-life movement ask if Trump should still be supported, the important question is: What happens to our country if he isn’t?

    “... If elected, Harris/Walz will be relentless in trying to make abortion legal in every state, for any reason, through all nine months of pregnancy, with our tax dollars paying for it. And they will do their best to shut down every pregnancy help center in the country. Even though women supposedly have a “choice,” they will be pushed to choose death. There is too much at stake in this election. Let’s be the little boy with his finger in the dike, holding back the flood. I don’t want to imagine a country after four years of Harris-Walz, and I don’t think you do either.”

    Photo Credit: ©Facebook/National Right to Life

  • Lila Rose

    4. Lila Rose, President and founder of Live Action

    Rose applauded Trump for saying he would vote no on Amendment 4 in Florida.

    “Thank you, @realDonaldTrump! Please help the great people of Florida defeat this horrific amendment!” she wrote on X. “If Trump starts talking like former President Trump who at the March for Life said, ‘Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life,’ he may just win this election.”

    But Rose also said Trump has taken other positions that he should reverse. 

    “Positions that the Trump campaign has taken in the last few weeks, a departure from how he ran in 2016 and how he governed as President, that I think will cost Trump the election: 1) Supports taxpayer-funded IVF for all or force insurance companies to pay for it. This is to the Left of Harris/Walz, 2) Supports the abortion pill (60% of all abortions), 3) Says he will veto an abortion ban, 4) Criticizes pro-life states’ Heartbeat Laws and abortion bans, 5) Gutted the RNC platform on abortion, added in government-backed IVF and birth control.

    “This has killed the enthusiasm of Trump’s own base,” Rose wrote on X. “My exhortation to the Trump campaign is to change course, come out strongly for LIFE, be a fighter again, take advantage of the GOOD momentum of opposing Florida’s Amendment 4, and stand against the pro-taxpayer funded, child dismemberment and torture horrors of the Harris/Walz agenda.”

    “I believe if he does this, Trump WILL win,” Rose added. 

    Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Lila Rose

  • Marjorie Dannenfelser

    5. Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America

    “We thank President Donald Trump for announcing he will vote no on Amendment 4,” Dannenfelser said. “President Trump is absolutely right; Amendment 4 is a radical measure that would force taxpayers to fund abortion, eliminate parental rights, take women’s health protections off the books, and allow abortion throughout all of pregnancy -- even in the seventh, eighth, and ninth months.

    “The Left’s all-trimester abortion amendment poses a major threat to unborn children, women, and girls. We must all fight diligently from now until election day. The only way Amendment 4 passes is if voters are unaware of its impacts. We thank President Trump for shedding light on how extreme this measure is and call on all Republican leaders in Florida to follow the President’s example.”

    Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Alison Centofante

    Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.