Pro-life leaders expressed optimism as President Donald Trump began his second term of office, seeing potential for policy gains and messaging that would benefit the movement.
“I am incredibly enthusiastic,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, who leads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 24.
Dannenfelser’s organization works to elect pro-life candidates across the country.
She made those comments at the 51st National March for Life, where both Trump and Vice President JD Vance addressed pro-life activists.
It was the third March for Life since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision—effectively allowing states to impose greater restrictions.
Dannenfelser said, “There is something really important at the March for Life for them both to make an appearance here.”
She said that part of changing the culture to achieve pro-life gains was “electing great pro-life champions like JD Vance and others, who are great communicators, who can cut through the morass.”
Trump has resisted the subsequent pro-life calls for a national abortion ban, stating instead that he sees the issue as one for the states.
He also said before taking office that he wouldn’t ban the abortion pill.
Yet, pro-life leaders see room for progress for their movement; namely, in defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s most prominent abortion provider, and altering regulations surrounding abortion.
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said she thought it was a “wonderful sign” that Vance attended the March.
“There were certainly some things on the campaign trail that, to me, were missteps ... it'll be interesting just to watch the Trump administration in the next few months,” she said.
Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins told The Epoch Times: “If he truly believes that abortion ... should not be a federal issue, then put your money where your mouth is ... The first step is to debar and defund Planned Parenthood.”
Dannenfelser told The Epoch Times that her group would approach the Trump administration “as the friends that they are.”
“We have a lot of work to do, and we work within the possible. And I believe in the long run, everyone will be on board with some national limit,” she added.
Pro-life activists have long sought for Congress to block the flow of Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood but Republicans haven’t managed to make defunding the law.
Since entering his second term, Trump has pardoned pro-life activists and reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which blocks funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortion referrals or counseling.
In a statement Jan. 24, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson called the move “dangerous.”
She said that “elected officials should not be interfering in personal medical decisions, in this country or anywhere in the world.”
“Planned Parenthood will do everything we can to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States and around the world,” she said.
In November 2024, the group responded to entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have both advised Trump and stated that the Department of Government Efficiency would target millions in funding for Planned Parenthood.
“Musk and Ramaswamy are making clear how they intend to use their power: denying people care and wreaking havoc on our public health system, of which Planned Parenthood is an integral part—all in the name of supposed ‘government efficiency,'” McGill Johnson said at the time.
Musk and Ramaswamy were chosen by Trump to lead DOGE. Ramaswamy later removed himself from the role after Trump was sworn in, saying he intended to take up a gubernatorial bid in Florida, leaving Musk to solely lead the newly created department.
Trump’s first term achieved a method of defunding by changing the criteria for Title X family planning grants provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The first Trump administration had restricted Title X funding from flowing to organizations that provide abortions, but the Biden administration reversed that policy.
Trump’s nominee to oversee HHS is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has opposed abortion restrictions.
Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, scheduled for Jan. 30, could help clarify how he will address issues such as the abortion pill, which has become a major topic after Dobbs.
“I am optimistic that this incoming administration has a lot of people on the ground who are willing to ask questions, and I think that that is critically important,” Dr. Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, told The Epoch Times at the march.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute is the research and education institute of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Skop said she thought the Trump administration would “recognize that under President [Joe] Biden’s very pro-abortion administration, that too many safeguards were removed.”
The first Trump administration had maintained a requirement that the abortion pill be dispensed in person. The Biden administration revoked that during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pro-life advocates have argued that the in-person requirement helps to ensure necessary medical screening and prevent abusers from using the pill.
When asked about Trump’s opposition to banning the abortion pill, Hawkins suggested that reversing the Biden administration’s decision on in-person requirements was a possibility.
“Just because you support abortion, I don’t think you support rapists getting access to chemical abortion pills and using these pills to cover crimes,” she said.
Hawkins cited concerns about Kennedy not being a “pro-life individual” but said, “I’m confident enough in my skills of persuasion and the facts that we can change his mind on a lot of things, that we can educate him on a lot of things he doesn’t know.”
She told The Epoch Times that the Trump administration should pull the abortion pill from the market until an environmental assessment is done.
