The anti-abortion movement weighs its next move: ‘We haven’t gone away’
The anti-abortion movement weighs its next move: ‘We haven’t gone away’
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The movement is on the upswing thanks to Trump but a question lingers: what is their role in his administration?. Minutes into the National Pro-Life Summit, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, had convinced its more than attendees to leap to their feet. She was recording a video, and she had a message she wanted them to send to Donald Trump.
“THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT!” the crowd in the ballroom thundered, before bursting into raucous applause – complete with wolf whistles. Every January, anti-abortion activists from across the country gather in Washington for the March for Life, the largest anti-abortion gathering in the US. In recent years, the march has been followed by the National Pro-Life Summit, which seeks to take the raw energy of the march and channel it towards specific organizations and policy aims. The summit, which is organized by the powerful Students for Life of America, held seminars on efforts to halt access to abortion pills, protect campus free speech and defend marriage as the union between one man and one woman. There was a pro-life job fair, where young people could learn about working for the Heritage Foundation – the architects of the famous Project 2025 policy playbook – as well as a massive room where they could pick up T-shirts with slogans such as “DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD”.
There was one overarching theme that knit the summit together: thanks to Trump, the anti-abortion movement is on the upswing. “For those of you that were advocating for an America that isn’t weak and pathetic, but instead one that has borders, one that defends the unborn, one that believes in liberty and freedom – it is amazing to see how quick America can get back on pace,” the Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk told the cheering crowd assembled in the ballroom. He continued: “You guys have an amazing ally in the White House in the fight for life. Both President Trump and JD Vance.”.
