Originally published June 27, 2023 2:00 pm PDT
In an apparent shift, former U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Saturday night that the federal government has an essential role in defending unborn life.
The remarks were made during the annual conference of the Evangelical Faith & Freedom Coalition in Washington, D.C.
This viewpoint is a departure from Trump’s previous stance that states should regulate abortion, not federal authorities.
“There of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life,” Trump announced. “We will bring everybody together to protect our precious unborn babies in a very, very big way.”
Previously, Trump’s campaign had stressed that abortion regulation should be a “state’s only” issue.
This stance had irked pro-life advocates.
Prominent activists such as Lila Rose of Live Action and Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, had voiced their objections, with Rose asserting that Trump had disqualified himself from pro-life nomination, LifeSiteNews points out.
Other potential GOP candidates, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, had also criticized Trump’s stand on abortion.
Particularly, DeSantis rebuked Trump for softening his stance after he labeled a Florida law outlawing abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy as too “harsh.”
Trump’s Saturday speech, however, signaled a more favorable commitment to pro-life goals at a national level.
“I will continue to stand proudly for pro-life policies, just as I did before,” affirmed Trump, whose statement was backed by his rumored vice-presidential running mate, Kari Lake.
“I believe the greatest progress for pro-life is now being made in the states, where everyone wanted it to be. That’s one of the reasons they wanted Roe v. Wade terminated, is to bring it back into the states where a lot of people feel strongly it should be and where legal scholars feel very strongly it should be, with the three exceptions that I support and Ronald Reagan before me support it for rape, incest and for the life of the mother,” he expounded during his speech.
Despite this shift, Trump still holds that a “no exceptions” platform, adopted by some pro-life politicians, had cost them their races in the 2022 midterms.
He sees a moderate position as the right course in a post-Roe America, with a focus on countering Democratic lawmakers.
Trump went on to condemn the extreme late-term abortions supported by some Democrats.
“They are the radical people when they’re willing to kill a child — after birth, they’re willing. Take it beyond the nine months! They are the radical people. They are the people that are really in trouble with the Lord,” he said.
On the subject of future pro-life policies, Trump expressed the need for the U.S. to rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration at the United Nations and advocated for extending adoption tax credits for families.
Closing his address to the crowd, Trump rallied supporters saying, “It’s time for us to keep our faith, our unity, and our resolve. We must be strong like never before. We must be unstoppable. Together, we will take on the Communist and the Marxists and the fascists and the globalists and the fake news media.”
