It’s not exactly Christmas morning, but the sense of anticipation among those who care about the human rights issue of our day is running high. The presumed Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump, told reporters that an announcement about his preferred abortion policy was imminent. Given recent rumor-based reporting, some think that means the pro-life champion will endorse a federal late-term abortion limit at four months of pregnancy (15 or 16 weeks.)
As someone who wants Trump to win against the most radical abortion-loving administration of all time, let me explain why that is both unnecessary and a mistake.
I was and continue to be proud to support the work of President Trump, as are many. The Pro-Life Generation wants a pro-life champion like President Trump to win, especially considering the radical abortion policies of President Biden. But we strongly urge President Trump not to endorse a federal late-term limit on abortion at 15 weeks or later. While such a late-term line would be a win in California, many states across the country have embraced the worth of both mother and child much earlier.
Disparaging the courageous work of many pro-life Americans aside, such a late-term line isn’t a polling juggernaut and sets up a politically divisive fight when we all need to focus on the abortion extremism of the Democratic Party, unwilling to limit a single abortion. Looking at Europe, it’s also obvious that when such legislation takes hold, it’s almost impossible to fix later.
And no one is asking for this.
Polls, including those recently at FOX and USA Today, consistently show that support for an abortion limit at a confirmed heartbeat – the universal sign of life – or later at almost 4 months of pregnancy usually are about 2 points different, with most Americans wanting some limits on abortion. That’s hardly a sweeping endorsement for waiting so long to protect life.
For those who want no limits, the fact that such a late-term line allows for more than 9 in 10 abortions won’t satisfy their desire for more taxpayer-funded abortion. Also unsatisfying for many pro-life activists is delaying protections for preborn life to 15 weeks based on a preborn baby’s pain, when science shows that pain can be felt as early as 3 months (12.5 weeks). Why wait?
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Then, there is the reality of Congressional makeup in which most legislation won’t make it past the Senate, where usually 60 votes are needed. A gestational limit bill as a primary goal seems dead on arrival, why start there?
However, the Biden Administration has proven that abortion is federal, as he has weaponized agencies and programs against the preborn and those who fight for them. So, there is much for President Trump to pledge.
President Trump can offer a vision of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people – born and preborn – to provide hope and a future. He can:
MAKE KEY APPOINTMENTS: Beginning with the Vice President and then the Secretaries of Health & Human Services (HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the head of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and leadership of key projects/task forces throughout government. From there, life-affirm policies can be reintroduced that protect preborn children, their mothers, and our environment from dangerous abortion pollutants now in our water.
EMBRACE OPPOSITE DAY: Reversing the extremist actions of the Biden Administration in prioritizing abortion -- from the Postal Service to the Federal Trade Commission to the budget will be a major undertaking. Consider this list a starting point: A Lot of Work at the Federal Level is Needed to Undo the Damage Joe Biden Has Done on Life
END TAXPAYER SUPPORT FOR ABORTION: Get the Federal Government out of funding and subsidize the abortion industry with domestic and international funds. Abortion will always be federal if we are paying for it.
SUPPORT MOTHERS AND YOUNG FAMILIES: Promote services and support for young families, mothers, and their children – born and preborn. We need to welcome them with resources. This can include an expanded Child Tax Credit, for example.
USE THE BULLY PULPIT: Use the megaphone of the presidency to tell the story of LIFE. As former President Ronald Reagan observed: “Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and therefore be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide.”
PROTECT LIFE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: Direct the Department of Education to prioritize assisting pregnant and parenting students and to end abortion-supporting policies such as Chemical Abortion Pill distribution on campuses, as well as to require information for students on their life-affirming options.
END THE VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: The weaponization of the Justice system against peaceful pro-life individuals must come to an end. This can begin with letting go of the staff who put personal agendas over the rule of law and continue with law-based decision and policy support.
We hope that President Trump’s agenda will end the anti-baby, anti-family bias of President Biden’s Administration. Our SFLA-You Gov poll shows less than one in ten Youth Voters supports the Democratic Party Abortion Position: Abortion without limits, Paid for by taxpayers, Without conscience protections for medical professionals, or Respect for the rights of states to enact laws. Add in the Democratic Party’s efforts to block medical care to infants born during botched abortions, and infanticide, and that’s a horrific agenda.
Fighting against that kind of abortion extremism is a reason to vote for Donald Trump.
Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, with more than 1,400 groups on middle and high school, college and university, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Follow her @KristanHawkins or subscribe to her podcast, Explicitly Pro-Life.
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