Politics should always be about pragmatism, not unattainable pie-in-the-sky idealism.
On the issue of abortion, President Donald J. Trump has been consistent in his support for a federalist system, which delegates jurisdiction to individual states, rather than the federal government.
There is no shortage of hard-line ideologues in American politics. Some pro-lifers—who support heartbeat bill legislation or even an outright federal ban on abortion without exceptions for incest, rape, or the life of the mother—will undoubtedly be dissatisfied with President Trump’s federalist approach.
They must understand, however, that their position is wildly unpopular nationally. For President Trump to capitulate to the demands of this small group would be the death-knell of his campaign. But we must remember: President Trump was—and will be again—the most pro-life president in this country’s history. Kamala, on the other hand, will be the president of Death.
For the pro-life movement to prevail long term, it must not achieve its victories through legal fiat as pro-abortion activists did in 1973 with the awkwardly argued and widely unpopular Roe standard that birthed the pro-life movement in the first place. We must change the culture and reorient our economics and public policy around home and family.
President Trump’s first term defeated Roe. His second term will make down payments on the future for an America that can be not just pro-life, but holistically pro-life by being pro-health for children and mothers, pro-peace through strength abroad and in opposition to wars of choice, and pro-natal by putting the crisis of falling birth rates front and center in domestic policy.
Children are the future of our civilization. To want and work for more of them and to support those American families is to be pro-civilization.