Ahead of March for Life, pro-life movement faces key political challenges

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- As the pro-life movement prepares for the 53rd annual March for Life, their cause faces a number of key issues such as preserving the Hyde Amendment, the recent approval of a new generic abortion drug and a rising abortion rate.

Multiple studies show that since the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which overturned its previous precedent that viewed abortion as a constitutional right, the abortion rate in the U.S. has increased rather than decreased, despite bans in some states.

Pro-life organizations, eager to reverse some of the policies implemented by the Biden administration -- such as eased restrictions on mifepristone, a pill commonly, but not exclusively, used for early abortion -- have in some cases been met with further setbacks during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term in office. In September, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new generic version of mifepristone, despite previous indications from FDA and Department of Health and Human Services officials that the drug would undergo a safety review.

"Nearly two-thirds of all abortions are chemical abortions, a percentage which has continued to rise dramatically ever since the abortion pill was first approved in 2000," John Shelton, vice president of policy at Advancing American Freedom, a political advocacy group launched by former Vice President Mike Pence, told OSV News.

AAF, he said, "firmly believes that abortion is both a federal and a state issue, but even if we granted the president's view that abortion is now up to the states, protecting the states' prerogative to regulate and ban abortion requires some basic initiatives at the federal level that President Trump has not pursued thus far in his second term."

During his first term, Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who ultimately voted to overturn Roe, and during his 2024 campaign, he issued a video statement in which he took credit for the court's decision. But in that same statement, Trump argued that after the Dobbs ruling, abortion should be a matter for the states rather than Congress, and said he would veto a federal abortion ban if one reached his desk. Many pro-life organizations have argued the ruling returned the matter to the legislative branch, which would also include Congress, rather than exclusively to state lawmakers.

Trump's legacy on life issues "remains something of a Rorschach test, an ambiguity that he seems to have carefully cultivated," Shelton said.

"One day, he declares himself 'the most pro-life president' in American history, and the next day, he's asking Republicans to be flexible on Hyde provisions that prohibit taxpayer funding from covering abortion, a compromise solution that Republicans and Democrats have historically found common ground on," Shelton said.

Within days of returning to the White House, Trump meanwhile issued pardons for 23 individuals he said were improperly prosecuted by the Biden administration under the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which prohibits actions including obstructing the entrance to an abortion clinic. Trump also reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which would bar taxpayer funds from going to nongovernmental organizations abroad that perform abortions.

But in a Jan. 6 speech, Trump told House Republicans to be "flexible" in negotiations on health care subsidies with regard to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of elective abortions and is a policy pro-life groups have long supported.

The Hyde Amendment, which was named for the late Republican Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, is not permanent law. It must be attached to individual appropriations bills in order to take effect. Supporters of the Hyde Amendment argue it prevents taxpayer-funded abortions and related conscience issues, while critics argue it reduces access to abortion.

Politico reported Jan. 15 that some leading abortion opponents have threatened to redirect or withhold some of their pledged midterm election cycle spending, amounting to tens of millions of dollars, for candidates they see as "too soft" on the issue.

"Some in the GOP have taken the pro-life movement for granted," Kelsey Pritchard, communications director at SBA Pro-Life America, told OSV News. "If Republicans abandon their commitment to unborn children and their mothers, they risk losing the midterms."

Pritchard said SBA has worked "to turn out pro-life voters and persuade undecided Americans, investing $80 million to make sure our voices are heard."

"Now, Republicans must do their part: Protect the Hyde Amendment and reverse Biden's dangerous mail-order abortion pill policy that is actively contributing to our nation's death toll and sending women to the ER," she said. "Lives are at stake, and the pro-life movement is a decisive political force. The GOP cannot waver if it wants to remain the party that defends life."

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. After the Dobbs decision, church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the church's concern for both mother, and child and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can increase the risk of abortion.