As thousands of Americans prepare to attend the annual March for Life this week in Washington, D.C., the topic of abortion is top of mind for many. And now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, a pro-life president could have a more significant impact than in past years. So, where do former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stand on the issue?
Donald Trump Shifts Focus
During his presidency, Donald Trump worked closely with pro-life leaders and became the first president to speak at the March for Life in 2020. During that speech, he said he would “defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential.” Attendees of that march could be seen carrying red signs of Trump’s face with the words: “Most pro-life president ever.”
Trump made three key Supreme Court nominations that allowed for the overturning of Roe in 2022. He also decreased funding to Planned Parenthood and signed an executive order protecting infants born alive after failed abortions. (READ MORE from Liliana Zylstra: Meet Terrisa Bukovinac, the Democrat Standing Up to Biden’s Abortion Extremism)
However, Trump has shifted his focus recently. In a September interview, he stressed the importance of compromise on abortion and strongly criticized DeSantis for signing a law banning abortions after six weeks’ gestation. Trump called that law a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”
Trump declined to say whether he would support a national 15-week limit and instead asserted that he would be “almost like a mediator” on the issue. He would, he said, “come up with a number of weeks or months … that’s going to make people happy.” The former president also asserted, “I think both sides are going to like me.”
In an Iowa town hall event last week, Trump echoed his previous comments by criticizing earlier abortion limits. He said, “[A] lot of women don’t know if they’re pregnant in 5 or 6 weeks.”
Nikki Haley’s Abortion Realism
Nikki Haley has called herself “unapologetically pro-life.” She boasts of her record when she was governor of South Carolina, as she signed a bill during her tenure to protect babies in the womb at 20 weeks.
During her Jan. 10 debate with fellow candidate DeSantis, Haley criticized both Republicans and Democrats, saying: “These fellas don’t know how to talk about abortion.… The Democrats put fear in women, and Republicans have used judgment.… We’re not gonna demonize this issue anymore.” She added, “[O]ur goal should be how do we save as many babies as possible and support as many moms as possible.”
During her time in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010, Haley supported two bills that would have protected life from fertilization.
Now, as a presidential candidate, Haley has different priorities. As she said in a November debate:
There are some states that are going more on the pro-life side. I welcome that. There are some states that are going more on the pro-choice side. I wish that wasn’t the case, but the people decided. But when it comes to federal law … be honest, it’s going to take 60 senate votes, a majority of the house, and a president to sign it … so no Republican president can ban abortion.
Instead, Haley has argued for more realistic goals. “Let’s find consensus,” she said. “Let’s agree on how we can ban late-term abortions … encourage adoption … [and] make contraception accessible.”
Ron DeSantis: ‘Pro-Life for the Whole Life’
Ron DeSantis was praised by pro-lifers for signing a bill to protect the unborn at six weeks in Florida. In an interview in July, he called the move the “most significant pro-life protections that we’ve ever done in the state of Florida” and assured voters that he would “always come down on the side of life.”
Similarly to Haley, DeSantis expressed a lack of confidence in the ability of the federal government to end abortion:
I think there is a federal interest, but I think the reality is … the country is divided on it.… I don’t have much confidence that Congress is going to do anything meaningful.… You’re going to see different states go in different directions, and I understand that.
These statements earned DeSantis criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who responded: “There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most.” (READ MORE: DeSantis Must Stay in the Race)
DeSantis finally said during a September debate that he would support a federal 15-week abortion limit.
During January’s debate with Haley, DeSantis called out Trump for his comments against pro-lifers. “I don’t know how you square that…. [H]e was at the March for Life when he was president,” DeSantis said, adding, “He’s given a gift to the Left to weaponize against pro-lifers.”
DeSantis also called on Republicans to “do a better job of lifting up folks who are having children” and cited the need to help with medical care, affordability, and education choice. “You gotta be pro-life for the whole life,” he said.