Anti-abortion leaders are furious at the Trump administration’s lack of action to ban abortion nationwide — and the White House is trying to dismiss the concerns.
Prominent advocates in the movement told NOTUS they took issue with Vice President JD Vance taking the stage at the March for Life in Washington on Friday, pointing specifically to the administration’s failure to restrict abortion pill access.
From the stage, Vance effectively dismissed those concerns, arguing they should instead focus and celebrate how far the anti-abortion movement has come.
“I must address an elephant in the room,” Vance said. “A fear that some of you have that not enough progress has been made, that not enough has happened in the political arena, that we’re not going fast enough, that our politics have failed to answer the clarion call to life that this march represents.”
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“We’re going to have open conversations about how best to use our political system to advance life,” Vance continued. “I think these are good, honest and natural debates.”
“But I think all of us also have to remember that we are commanded to let not our hearts be troubled, because I look at this crowd and I see young people for whom Dobbs is the only world they’ve ever known,” Vance added, referring to the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
“My friends, I ask you to look where the fight for life was just one decade ago, and now, look where it stands today,” Vance said. “We have made tremendous strides over the last year, and we’re going to continue to make strides over the next three years to come.”
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced a series of anti-abortion policies ahead of the March for Life, including plans to expand its so-called Mexico City Policy, which bans foreign aid from going to organizations that promote or provide abortions, stopping funding research that uses “fetal tissue from elective abortions,” and an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood should have received COVID-era aid through the Paycheck Protection Program.
But anti-abortion advocates are angry over the lack of action to restrict abortion pills and, most recently, President Donald Trump’s comments to congressional Republicans that they should be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment. That left them feeling that the administration’s recent actions weren’t enough.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, slammed Vance’s remarks, saying in a statement that since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the number of abortions has increased and the Trump administration is making it worse.
“Because of the indispensable role President Trump played in the overturning of Roe, we have the opportunity to save lives and serve women. But it is because of the inaction of the Trump-Vance administration on abortion drugs that this opportunity isn’t being realized — and abortions are going up, not down,” Dannelfelser said.
Dannenfelser urged the Trump administration to reimpose restrictions on abortion pills, specifically urging them to prohibit them being available via mail and only accessible in person.
“Doing so would allow states to enforce their laws, protect countless unborn lives, and restore essential medical oversight to stop the coercion and abuse of women nationwide,” Dannenfelser added.
Anti-abortion advocates say the administration’s recent actions weren’t enough.
In a statement, John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, thanked the administration for the efforts, but added that it “must hold the line by reaffirming their commitment to Hyde.”
“The March for Life deserves thanks from the movement for providing an annual platform to ensure accountability to life,” he continued.
“I’m never going to be happy until abortion’s ended. That’s my job. As an activist, I’m never going to be completely happy with you until you do exactly what I want,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, told NOTUS ahead of Vance’s remarks. “I’m always going to be pushing for more.”
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