Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2024 / 17:13 pm (CNA).
Live Action president Lila Rose is increasing her criticism of 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — arguing that his recent statements are alienating pro-life voters such as herself.
“Given the current situation, we have two pro-abortion tickets,” Rose said in a post on X on Thursday, Aug. 29.
“A Trump win is not a pro-life win right now,” she continued. “Pro-lifers will need to challenge both leaders either way. We only help Trump by sounding the alarm — Trump is losing pro-life votes regardless of what I say — because of his own actions.”
Rose, who is Catholic, argued that “expressions of disappointment are not enough” and that “the currency and the language in this season is votes.” She added that “it is wrong for Trump supporters to demand that pro-life activists be endlessly loyal to Trump in response to repeated betrayal.”
“We will continue to speak the truth and demand better from the Trump campaign for the sake of innocent babies who cannot speak for themselves,” Rose said. “Fear cannot keep us from doing and saying what is right. We are two months out from the election. It’s not too late for Trump to change course.”
Rose added: “I hope and pray that President Trump will change his course and stop supporting the legalization of the killing of babies.”
During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly taken credit for nominating three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, which ended the country’s recognition of abortion as a constitutional right. For decades, this has been the biggest goal of the pro-life movement.
Trump further used his executive power to restrict foreign aid funding of abortion and to prevent Title X funding from going to the abortion industry. As president, Trump also signed an executive order to protect infants who were born alive after a failed abortion.
In June, Trump said in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition that, if elected, he would “rapidly review the cases” of pro-life activists and “every political prisoner” who has been jailed under President Joe Biden’s administration and get them “back to their families where they belong.”
Despite this, Trump’s rhetoric on abortion has frustrated some pro-life activists over the past few months.
In April, the former president said abortion policy is “up to the states to do the right thing” and shied away from federal restrictions. He said in a post on Truth Social last week that if he is elected, his administration will be “great for women and their reproductive rights” without expanding on what that meant. He also told CBS in an interview last week that he would not use the Comstock Act to restrict mail-in chemical abortion drugs and that such drugs would remain available.
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, also said in an interview with NBC last weekend that Trump would not sign a national abortion ban if elected.
An abortion ban at the federal level would be unlikely to reach any president’s desk because it would need 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster. Republicans have 49 votes in the Senate, although some of them oppose a federal ban on abortion.
The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has vowed to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, which would undo pro-life gains at the Supreme Court and prohibit states from passing laws that protect unborn life. This, too, is unlikely to reach any president’s desk because of Senate filibuster rules.
As a senator, Harris backed a bill to prevent states from passing abortion restrictions and voted against a bill that would have required doctors to provide medical care for a child who is born after a failed abortion attempt. As attorney general of California, Harris also backed a law that forced pro-life pregnancy centers to provide advertisements for abortion and oversaw a raid on the home of pro-life journalist David Daleiden, whom she claimed broke laws when obtaining undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials.
In an interview with Politico published on Thursday, Rose said she “would not vote for Harris or Trump” if the election were held today and said there are “other candidates” and even “write-in candidates.”
“I think that it’s the job of the pro-life movement to demand protection for preborn lives,” Rose said. “It is not the job of the pro-life movement to vote for President Trump.”
Rose said she hopes Trump “embraces the pro-life movement again” and that he would make a better case for pro-life voters if he promises “we will do everything in our power through the executive branch to protect the lives of innocent children.”
Many other pro-life activists have taken a different approach to the 2024 election than Rose, such as Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Although she has criticized some of Trump’s rhetoric, Dannenfelser has urged pro-life voters to focus on the “short-term urgent threat” that Harris poses to the pro-life movement.
“The [pro-life] cause is way bigger and younger than Donald Trump. …” Dannenfelser said last week. “The short-term urgent threat? Harris-Walz and all Senate candidates promising unlimited six-, seven-, eight-, nine-month abortion as the only option for women.”
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You know the weird man. He sells anything or anybody for a dollar. He has betrayed his wives, mistresses, business partners, contractors, clients, tenants, the GOP (turned it into his MAGA cult), the conservative movement, and the American nation. By his recent declarations and actions he has also betrayed the Catholics who disregarded their moral compass to follow him because of what they believed to be his anti-abortion stance which he now repudiated.
Policy & past performance in office count. Not personal affairs & brokenness. And that applies to every candidate.
What are you talking about, Mrs. Cracker? Are you just going full ostrich on what Trump has been saying the past few weeks regarding abortion? He & Vance have both clearly stated their support for accessibility to Mifepristone, which is responsibility for a majority of the abortions in this country.
So we should just concentrate on past actions and ignore alarming affirmative statements of position like this? I’m guessing you also have no rebuttal to those slamming Trump’s response yesterday when asked about whether he would support the referendum on abortion being a right enshrined in Florida’s constitution. That you and Athanasius and other MAGA Catholics on here can only seem to counter posts slamming Trump’s increasingly pro-abortion positions with “But Harris!” or “TDS!” is a pretty telling indictment of how indefensible the Orange Man’s ever evolving morality actually is.
Feticide is no longer a federal issue. It’s up to each state, not Washington, nor federal courts- thank the Lord. Every time our state legislature passed prolife laws in the past a federal court would throw them out because of Roe.
And access to abortifacient drugs can be controlled by each state. In our state Mifepristone’s a controlled substance.
I’m uninterested in any politician’s personal morality. That’s between them & their Maker. If they don’t represent us properly in office we can replace them. Right now we only have two choices & Trump is the better one. It seems pretty simple to me & not something we need to overthink.
Right, and the Democrats you support and vote for are models of Christian virtue. Like those who groom and sexualize children to advance the gay agenda. Like those who sow confusion in the minds of young people to question and reject their identities. Like those who open our borders, letting dangerous criminals into our neighborhoods at the risk of taxpaying citizens. And let’s not forget that the 65 million aborted children in the US lost their lives at the hands of progressive Democrats. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. As a Democrat who is guilty of all of these things by association, you are in no position to judge Trump or anyone else.
Trump’s ‘pro-life’ positions are less extreme than Biden’s and Harris’ seeking to enshrine their radical and deadly positions into federal law. Laying claim to Catholicism, Biden pulled from his pants pocket the beads of a Rosary (likely unblessed as holy water surely would mess his underwear). His eerily crooked thin-lipped smile etched the lines in his as he flaunted his ‘card-carrying’ Catholic beads on a string. Many Catholics smelled the horror of hypocrisy while many others cheered his chutzpah at turning such a tawdry trick. Satan recited scripture and Biden showed his beads.
Trump, OTOH, shows the unwise wisdom of an ignorant Protestant by softening his policy position to garner middle-ground independent voters.
While lies, deception, and hypocrisy are the demon’s trademark, Harris has NEVER lied about her horrific embrace of child-killing in the womb. Harris has never evolved from her position in the nether world of abortion on demand when and how the ‘mother’ may choose. Harris sees no need to deceive. She herself embodies the concept.
One of our state’s favorite governors took up with a stripper & ran his office out of a psychiatric hospital. His final request was to be buried in his voting precinct so he could still remain active in politics.
They don’t make them like that anymore.
🙂
In most countries, pro-lifers don’t have the option of a viable pro-life candidate, My native South Africa being an example, with the ruling ANC being rabidly pro-abortion (to the point of not even allowing a conscience vote for it’s MP’s on the issue) and the main opposition DA, which in principle allows a conscience vote but sadly in practice most of it’s MP’s are either pro-abort or don’t consider the issue important.
My advice to pro-life Americans, who are now left with a truly ghastly choice, is to follow the advice of the late Pope Benedict XVI as per his pastoral letter in 2002 and vote for the candidate who will do the least harm.
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/worthiness-to-receive-holy-communion-general-principles-2153
I think at times some folks prefer the drama that defeat brings.
“As attorney general of California, Harris . . . oversaw a raid on . . . David Daleidan, [WHO] she claimed broke laws . . .”
Grr.
Having overturned Roe v Wade, can the pro-life community now turn to getting women and men to stop fornicating and engaging in reproductive relations when a baby is not desired?
Well Donald Trump is certainly a model of marital fidelity, so pro-lifers should feel inspired to look to him for leadership on this front as well.
Why? Why would any serious practicing Christian look to any politician for guidance as to how to live or what to think about the pressing issues of the day? We look to Christ and to Him alone.
Were Cardinal McElroy to be elected president, would he be better or worse than Trump on abortion and the bane of family, homosexuality?
Lila Rosa, a staunch Catholic is too idealistic to expect anything less than Francis X Maier or Edward Feser to be a suitable prolife choice for president. It aint gonna happen honey. She and other fine Catholics don’t seem to realize politics is not religion and will likely be responsible for the election of a radical prodeath pro Sodom and Gomorrah president. If only the idealistic diehards would use God’s gift, their intelligence.
A large number of pro-life Christians who don’t vote for Trump/Vance will pretty much guarantee that Harris/Wenz will win, and probably win comfortably, which will enable them to claim that the majority of the U.S. citizens have spoken against MAGA and want abortion and other abominable practices to continue unchallenged as the law of the land. Also keep in mind that many of the pro-life states have very close Senate and House elections, and also gubernatorial elections, and if people vote for Harris/Wenz, they will in all likelihood vote a straight Democratic ticket (easier to figure out in the voting booth), which will give Harris/Wenz and the Democratic Party the illusion of a victorious “mandate” to sign into law all the evil policies that offend the Lord God and break the heart of Our Lady and destroy the unborn. Be wise! Keep in mind that Pres. Trump has a beautiful Catholic wife who will undoubtedly use her influence to help him make decisions that will allow many unborn human beings to live. And keep in mind that when Mike Pence was his VP, Pres. Trump recognized his own lack of political savvy and constantly consulted with VP Pence. I’m guessing Pres. Trump will not act on his own (as a dictator would) but will seek the wisdom of career politicians and other experts, including knowledgeable pro-life influencers and pastors/priests who will help him make good decisions. Please don’t be foolish and give Harris/Wenz and all the anti-life candidates this election.