Anti-Abortion Group Pressures Trump to Embrace Firm Stance

The blaming of the "abortion issue" by former President Donald Trump as the reason Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterm elections is receiving pushback from at least one conservative anti-abortion group.

Trump deflected blame for the performance of his party in November, saying, "It wasn't my fault Republicans didn't live up to expectations." Fingers have been pointed at the former president for endorsing losing candidates in major high-profile races, including Herschel Walker, Kari Lake and Tudor Dixon.

"It was the 'abortion issue,' poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters," Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. "Also, the people that pushed so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court, & just plain disappeared, not to be seen again."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America issued a rebuttal to Trump highlighting the group's "expectations" for Republican presidential candidates moving forward.

"The approach to winning on abortion in federal races, proven for a decade is this: State clearly the ambitious consensus pro-life position and contrast that with the extreme view of Democrat opponents," the organization said Monday in a statement. "We look forward to hearing that position fully articulated by Mr. Trump and all presidential candidates.

"There was ALSO a profound midterm lesson for future federal candidates: those who adopt the Ostrich Strategy on abortion lose," it added.

The ostrich metaphor refers to those who pretend certain things don't exist, burying their heads in the sand as an ostrich would do.

Pro-Life Flag Project, a nonpartisan anti-abortion group with the goal of uniting the broader anti-abortion movement under a common banner, called Trump's comments "unfortunately accusatory, partisan and misguided."

The group acknowledged that more work needs to be done, but that "the movement has been loudly and joyously celebrating this victory since June."

"Nearly all members of the pro-life movement acknowledge the need for 'life-of-the-mother' exceptions, such as in the case of ectopic pregnancies," the organization told Newsweek in a statement. "This is evidenced by the fact that every abortion ban passed in pro-life states since Roe's reversal has included wording to allow for abortion in those rare but tragic cases where the mother's life is at risk."

"Although there is still debate surrounding rape and incest exceptions, Pro-Life Flag Project firmly acknowledges that children conceived in rape or incest are no less valuable than any other human being," the statement continued.

Andrea Trudden, vice president of communications for Heartbeat International, told Newsweek "there are different strategies in play to make abortion unthinkable in our world." Those include free services and care from pregnancy help organizations.

"For 50 years, a poor Supreme Court decision impacted millions of lives by allowing abortion on demand with any and all regulations on it being challenged," Trudden said. "We now have the ability to implement various strategies across the states to provide life-affirming alternatives to abortion and encourage positive choices for not only women, but families.

She made no mention of Trump.

A Republican National Committee (RNC) memo dated September 13, 2022, cited how the Dobbs decision "could shift the electorate."

Not only did the memo intend to draw contrast against Democrats' "extreme position" but it also quoted Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, when she stated, "Running away from the issue is a proven way to lose."

"Voters disagree with Democrats' extreme position on abortion and Republicans must hold individual Democrats accountable for their extreme position," the memo reads in part. "Ask your opponent: 'When is a life worth protecting?'"

A video posted on Twitter by the account Patriot Takes shows Trump ignoring a question about supporting a bill introduced last year by Senator Lindsey Graham that would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks. That proposal garnered no real support from Graham's fellow Senate Republicans.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, also rebuked Trump's post, writing on Twitter that abortion was not what cost the GOP political power.

"GOP has lost control of the Senate THREE cycles in a row & it was not the fault of the pro-life movement," Phelan tweeted Monday. "It was your hand picked candidates who underperformed & lost 'bigly.' May 2023-24 bring the GOP new leadership PROUD to protect the unborn."

Democratic New York Representative Ritchie Torres tweeted that Trump's words "show that a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Trump cannot come to grips with his own role in reversing Roe vs Wade and reducing the so-called 'red wave' to a trickle," Torres wrote, in what is a likely reference to Trump's appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices who ultimately helped reverse 50-year-old precedent.

Democratic California Representative Ted Lieu tweeted that Trump never believed that life began at conception, and that his views conformed only to attain power.

"Now that you're no longer useful to him, Trump blames you for losing and wants you to shut up," Lieu wrote. "If you still support him, you are disrespecting yourself."

Update 01/03/22, 9:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Pro-Life Flag Project and Heartbeat International, as well as information from a Republican National Committee memo.