In a letter addressed to anti-abortion activists, he announced the formation of a new “pro-life coalition” that will be headed by Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony’s List, an anti-abortion group. Her appointment is one of the clearest signs yet that Trump really wants to bring value voters on board.
It’s also a sign that those same voters may be persuaded to line up behind his candidacy. Dannenfelser is a religious right heavyweight and her positions on abortion and contraception access reliably place her on the furthest fringe of the right. Take it away, Right Wing Watch:
When the House passed a bill last year banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy with a narrow exception for rape and incest survivors, Dannenfelser said that the bill’s rape exception was “regrettable” and “intellectually dishonest,” saying that she’d like to see all abortions banned at “any stage” of pregnancy. In a press conference, Dannenfelser said that although her group supported the legislation, “the rape exception is abominable.”
Trump also accused Hillary Clinton of supporting “abortion until an hour before birth,” and asserted his support for a permanent ban on public funds for abortion services. That’s a key issue for the religious right—but it’s new for Trump, who hasn’t exactly been consistent on the issue and has betrayed time and again that he is a novice when it comes to abortion politics.