US President: Trump allows himself to be celebrated by abortion opponents

US President Donald Trump and his government are demonstratively supporting abortion opponents and are thereby weakening protection for pregnant women on their way to an abortion. Trump pardoned several abortion opponents who were prosecuted for crimes. According to US media reports, these include several activists who were convicted in 2020 for blocking an abortion clinic in the capital Washington.

In the USA it is expressly forbidden to deny women access to clinics or to threaten them while doing so. The Face Act, passed in 1994, ensures this. Radical opponents of abortion argued that in this way they were simply exercising their right to freedom of expression. Trump said when signing the pardon: “You should never have been prosecuted.”

Trump also issued a decree that abortions could no longer be financed by US taxpayers’ money and reintroduced the so-called Mexico City Policy. According to this, government funding should be cut from all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that offer information and services on abortion abroad. This is likely to hit work in developing countries particularly hard.

Trump wants to prosecute lawbreakers less strictly

At the March for Life, an annual demonstration by anti-abortion activists in the US capital Washington, his deputy JD Vance said of Trump’s pardons: “Our government will no longer throw pro-lifers and activists, the elderly, grandparents or anyone else in prison.”

The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department has directed that prosecution of such cases only be permitted in “exceptional circumstances” or in cases with “significant aggravating factors” such as “death, serious bodily injury or serious property damage.” Under Democrat Joe Biden, the judiciary increasingly took action against violations of the Face Act.

Trump’s Vice: I want more babies in the USA

Vance now emphasized in Washington: “We stand with you, and above all we stand with the most vulnerable and the principle that people who exercise their right to protest on behalf of the most vulnerable must never again be persecuted by the government.” The Republican also shouted, “I want more babies in the United States of America.”

Vance has repeatedly expressed concern about the low birth rate and has in the past described Democratic politicians as “childless cat women.” At the same time, he demanded that childless people in a democracy should have less say and pay more taxes. He frequently used the conspiracy theory that the Democrats wanted to replace children with migrants.

Abortion clinics are the scene of disputes

In the USA, demonstrators often stand in front of abortion clinics – the mood can be heated. The abortion opponents verbally harass the pregnant women and shout after them. Although different laws apply in each state, these actions are generally legal as long as abortion opponents maintain a minimum distance and do not block access to the clinics. Volunteers are often on site to accompany pregnant women safely to the clinic.

Some abortion opponents also try to lure pregnant women to Christian facilities where they can be talked out of having to terminate their pregnancies.

Supreme Court has overturned nationwide abortion laws

The issue of abortion stirs emotions in the USA. According to polls, the majority of Americans support the right to abortion. This nationwide law, which has been in effect for around 50 years, was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022. In his first term, Trump was able to shift the composition of the Supreme Court significantly to the right due to several replacements.

Conservatives had previously tried for decades to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which cemented the nationwide right to abortion. They finally succeeded in front of the new right-wing conservative majority. Since then, the states have decided individually on their legislation. In many Republican-governed states, abortions are now almost completely banned – in some even in cases of rape or incest.

Trump: We will stand up for life

“Thanks to your tireless work and dedication over five decades, this historic wrong was righted three years ago, and I was very proud to be a part of it,” Trump said in a pre-recorded video message at the March for Life about the end of “Roe v. Wade”. He emphasized: “In my second term in office, we will once again proudly stand up for families and for life, we will protect the historic achievements we have achieved.”

During the election campaign, Trump tried to distance himself from the uncompromising anti-abortion line of some hardliners in his party and often made evasive statements. Tens of thousands gathered at the “March for Life” on Friday – including many young people who celebrated Trump. Signs read “Death is not welcome here” or “Every heartbeat deserves to be protected.”