Why the antiabortion movement is upset with the president who overturned Roe

Hawkins would later deliver more than 13,000 signatures to DOJ officials in support of enforcing the Comstock Act. 

But that moment, and the weather, were emblematic of a bleak moment for the anti-abortion community. Despite a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, a GOP-controlled House and Senate, in addition to Trump in power, anti-abortion issues appear to be an afterthought. 

Trump, the president who nominated three conservatives to the Supreme Court, which eventually overturned Roe v. Wade, may not be taking the concerns of the movement seriously just four years after the groundbreaking 2022 decision. 

One of the most prominent anti-abortion leaders in the nation echoed those thoughts in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. “Trump is the problem. The president is the problem,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said. 

“There is a lot of frustration,” said John Mize, the CEO of Americans United for Life, in an interview with the Washington Examiner. 

Abortions increased slightly in 2025 for the third straight year, according to data published by the pro-abortion-rights Guttmacher Institute. Many leaders blamed the use of abortion pills for the rise in rates.

“We are deeply concerned about the widespread and largely unregulated distribution of abortion pills, including, by the way, through illicit channels,” Mize said. “And that’s really increased the safety risks for women and girls, and they’re more vulnerable to coercion, as we’re seeing play out, misuse and medical complications.”

The fight over abortion isn’t just a political issue. For religious conservatives, there is a spiritual component that overrides political convenience. Although U.S. adults’ support for legal abortion is at 60%, according to the Pew Research Center, several antiabortion leaders remain committed to limiting abortions. And they expect a Republican administration to support those efforts irrespective of an election cycle.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said there was disappointment over the DOJ’s lack of support for states like Louisiana, which sued the Food and Drug Administration and mifepristone drugmakers, claiming it overrode Louisiana’s law barring elective abortion. The DOJ argued last May that states such as Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho lacked merit to sue the FDA over mifepristone, a stance that aligns with the Biden-era DOJ.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily blocked an appeals court’s ruling that barred the abortion pill from being sold online and transported to patients via mail through 5 p.m. on May 11 while the full Supreme Court considers the emergency petitions. At the center of the case is the requirement of in-person screenings before receiving access to the abortion pills.

“These states are suing because their right to protect their citizens is being abrogated, eviscerated by the FDA policy,” said Perkins, whose group filed a friend of the court brief in support of Louisiana.

Perkins also warned that his travels across the nation have shown that conservatives may have a depressed turnout rate if the abortion drug is still widely available in November.

“The problem for the Republicans is that this information gets out,” he said. “It’s going to hit around the midterm elections, and as that builds, they’re wanting enthusiasm. They’re not wanting to deflate their base.”

The battle over the availability of mifepristone, an abortion pill, has become just one of several issues that have angered antiabortion leaders during Trump’s second administration. 

Some have gone so far as to call for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s firing over reportedly delaying a review of mifepristone until after the midterm elections and over the FDA’s approval of a generic version of mifepristone last fall. On Friday, reports emerged that Trump was gearing up to fire Makary.

Other leaders have laid the blame at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who was famously a Democrat before leaving the party to become a Republican who endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign. 

Marc Short, Advancing American Freedom’s chairman and former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, told the Washington Examiner: “There’s way too much attention on Dr. Makary and less attention being focused on either his boss at HHS, the Secretary, or the White House.

“It seems a little bit of a cop out to be focused on just the FDA commissioner. I get that for a lot of people, they don’t want to challenge the White House. But the FDA commissioner would follow instructions given by the HHS Secretary, or by the White House.”

Antiabortion advocates may also have to face the reality that Planned Parenthood could begin to receive Medicaid reimbursements again if Congress passes a second reconciliation bill that doesn’t include language barring the organization. 

A GOP leadership aide told the Washington Examiner last month that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is not considering language that would defund Planned Parenthood for the reconciliation bill. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last year, only stripped the organization of Medicaid reimbursements for just one year, far below the 10 years that antiabortion advocates were hoping for. The administration also restored Title X family planning grants, originally launched during the Biden administration, to Planned Parenthood after a lengthy legal battle. 

With mifepristone still available on the market and Planned Parenthood on the brink of receiving federal reimbursements again after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act expires on July 4, some advocates are warning it could depress turnout during the November midterm elections. 

“A lot of pro-lifers are going to be angry, and they may not vote this fall, which is a serious concern,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “And I think the Republican Party does need to be looking at that.”

The White House claimed that Trump is “the most pro-life and pro-family President in history,” in a statement to the Washington Examiner. 

“The Trump Administration just recently announced a series of bold actions to safeguard life and uphold Americans’ fundamental freedoms, including policies long-sought by the pro-life movement to end the federal funding of abortion abroad,” said White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster. 

“Under the President’s leadership, the FDA is responding to widespread concerns about mifepristone with a Gold Standard Science-based safety review,” Schuster continued. “Since his first term, the President has been a proven leader in the pro-life movement, and he will continue to champion these policies to protect the sanctity of life.” 

Many advocates have praised Trump for nominating the three justices who turned the high court conservative. They’ve also praised him for expanding the Mexico City policy that prohibits federal funding for abortion advocacy overseas and ending federal funding for research that uses aborted fetal tissue. 

These are lower-level priorities for the antiabortion movement and have not tamped down the growing tensions, although some leaders claim they are not willing to break with the administration. 

“I, as a pro-life leader, do not expect or need the president of the United States to do my job,” said Frank Pavone, head of the organization Priests for Life, who was defrocked by the Vatican in 2022. “All I need is an environment in which I can give that message, because I know it will resonate in the hearts and minds of enough Americans to make a change in public policy, no matter what our president may or may not say about it.” 

The seeds of the tensions began during the 2024 campaign as Trump equivocated on his support for limiting abortion. 

Then-candidate Trump refused to embrace a 15-week abortion ban, even as former Vice President Mike Pence was lobbying GOP presidential candidates to embrace the issue. In one famous moment during the campaign cycle, Trump criticized a six-week abortion ban, as a “terrible mistake,” that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)  signed into law. 

Trump repeatedly claimed that after Roe, abortion is now a state issue, not federal, and would not commit to enforcing the Comstock Act. Republicans also dropped the long-standing antiabortion language from the GOP platform during the 2024 election cycle at Trump’s request. 

After returning to office, Trump also incurred the wrath of the movement when he told a convening of House Republicans to be “flexible on Hyde” during health spending bill negotiations, referencing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal spending on abortion except in rare circumstances of rape, incest, or life-threatening conditions for the mother. 

The president’s wavering views on abortion have put antiabortion leaders in a bind. The fall of Roe marked one of the most significant victories in decades for conservatives. It may also have taken away pressure from the Trump administration to prioritize other antiabortion initiatives. 

“I think President Trump is pro-life. I think his priorities are not always the same as mine,” said Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America. “Do I want faster and more? Do I want change over at the FDA? Absolutely, but I will always be grateful for him being the president that actually overturned Roe v. Wade.” 

Some leaders have pushed back at Trump’s insistence that abortion is now a state issue and claim there are federal actions that should be taken. 

Students for Life America implored the administration to debar Planned Parenthood.

“The SBA, Small Business Administration, already has the investigation ongoing,” Hawkins said. “Simple thing the Trump administration could do is say, ‘Look, we’re going to debar Planned Parenthood,’ which would defund them for three years and ban Planned Parenthood from receiving or applying for federal funds for three years.” 

The group has also pushed for the EPA to classify mifepristone as a drinking water contaminant, a move that would help to restrict abortions and also aligns with the Make America Healthy Again movement. 

The White House reportedly convened a meeting with at least one antiabortion leader on Friday. It’s unclear whether it will lead to a more friendly relationship with the wider antiabortion movement.

“I hope it does,” said Short, Pence’s former aide. “I’m hopeful that that is a positive conversation, which the White House commits to certain actions that the pro-life community has been asking for.”