The Catholic Church is firmly opposed to IVF because it separates the marriage act from procreation and destroys embryonic human life.
Finally, Trump cautioned voters to “remember you must also win elections to restore our culture, and in fact to save our country,” which he said is “very sadly a nation in decline.”
“Our nation needs help. It needs unity. It needs us all to work closely together, Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, everyone. We have to work together,” he said.
Pro-lifers react
Many in the pro-life movement had hoped Trump would endorse a federal abortion limit such as the one proposed by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. First introduced by Graham in 2022, this federal bill would limit abortion to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. It has not, however, received enough support from the Republican Party to come close to passage.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, head of the U.S. bishops’ Pro-Life Activities Committee, responded to Trump’s announcement by telling CNA that “legislators have a responsibility to protect vulnerable preborn life not only at the state level but also at the federal level.”
“With the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case that returned the issue of abortion to the people and their elected officials,” Burbidge said that “the federal effort must include undoing the current administration’s aggressive abortion-promoting regulations, preventing taxpayers from subsidizing abortion, and pursuing nationwide standards.”
Regarding IVF, Burbidge said that “life-affirming and moral alternatives to infertility are necessary, but we oppose methods such as IVF, which, among other problems, results in the death or abandonment of more children than are created through it.”
Pro-life leaders had measured reactions to Trump’s announcement, largely expressing support for the former president while urging him to take a stronger pro-life stance.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said her group is “deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position.”
“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights,” she said, adding that “unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry.”
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CatholicVote president Brian Burch, whose group has officially endorsed Trump for president, said that Trump’s announcement “reflects the electoral minefield created by Democrat abortion fanaticism.”
While noting his belief that “leaving abortion policy to the states is not sufficient,” Burch said that he is “confident that a Trump administration will be staffed with pro-life personnel committed to pro-life policies, including conscience rights, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion, and protections for pro-life states.”
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, meanwhile, said that pro-lifers “clearly have some work to do to educate the Trump administration to come” on the abortion and IVF issues but still called Trump’s announcement a “step in the right direction.”
“To be clear, the pro-life movement is united that abortion is a federal issue, and we won’t stop working until every child, in every state, is protected in life by law and service. Your state lines should never mean the beginning or end of your human rights,” she noted.
“Unlike President Biden, President Trump begins his remarks on abortion celebrating ‘the ultimate joy in life’ — children and family. That kind of love and support for the bedrock of society, the family, will be a welcome change in the White House,” Hawkins said.
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