Presidential election: abortion, crucial issue for Donald Trump

Each year, Donald Trump takes care of welcoming representatives of the "March for life" to the White House. But this time, the President of the United States announced on Twitter that he would attend the anti-abortion rally. "See you on Friday," the republican billionaire tweeted, predicting a "large crowd."

See you on Friday ... Big Crowd! https://t.co/MFyWLG4HFZ

A first for a US president in office. Last year, the White House host spoke to the group only by video, promising that his administration "would always defend the very first right of the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life ".

"Trump wants to prove pro-life loyalty"

If his detractors see it as a "desperate attempt" to divert attention from his dismissal trial which opened on Tuesday in the Senate, his presence constitutes, according to others, "a decisive turning point for the pro-life movement". Donald Trump wants to take advantage of this meeting to mark a little more his proximity to the anti-abortion movement which attracts thousands of protesters to Washington every year. "He seeks to reaffirm his pro-life position," said France 24 Nicole Bacharan, political scientist specializing in American politics and author of "The World According to Trump" (ed. Tallandier).

In the United States, abortion has remained a highly controversial issue for decades. According to a study by the Pew Research Center published in August 2019, 61% of Americans believe that the voluntary termination of pregnancy should be legalized in all cases, against 38% who think that it should be prohibited under all circumstances.

"Donald Trump rules for his electorate: anti-immigration, but also pro-life," said the political scientist. The latter category is widely represented among Evangelical Christians, 81% of whom voted for the Republican candidate in 2016. By speaking to the "March for life", the president intends to speak before his electorate, to prove to him "his loyalty "but also" remind him of what he has done and tell him that he will commit himself even more ".

The golden age of the pro-life movement

As soon as Donald Trump came to power in January 2017, his administration was particularly offensive with regard to the right to abortion: ban on funding international NGOs that support abortion, reduction of aid for abortions. Not to mention the appointment of two new pro-life Conservative judges to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In 2019, several conservative states in the south and center of the United States (the "Bible Belt") tightened the law in this area.

Consequence: access to abortion is declining in the United States, according to a New York Times study published on May 31, 2019. Dozens of specialized clinics in the country have closed in recent years, more than 11 million women in the United States United live more than an hour away from a center.

In an article published Wednesday in the conservative newspaper The Daily Wire, Russell T. Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget of Donald Trump, celebrated what he called "the golden age for our movement". However, the position of the former real estate tycoon has changed significantly over the years. In 1999, when he had not yet set foot in politics, he declared himself "very pro-choice". Since then, her position has evolved to declare herself, in May 2019, "very deeply pro-life with three exceptions: rape, incest and the protection of the mother's life".

"No ideological conviction on the subject"

Donald Trump "has no ideological conviction on the subject", assures Nicole Bacharan, who prefers to speak of "electoral position". The tenant of the White House is far from espousing the values ​​of evangelical puritanism, deplore some evangelical Christians. Those who most strongly oppose abortion question Donald Trump's two divorces, as does his penchant for blasphemy and his disinterested lack of interest in religion before entering politics.

Still, he gave them what they have not had for decades, said the political scientist, who lists the legal, social and political advances. "But above all, it offers evangelicals legitimacy," she continues, "because they have long been considered marginalized, uneducated, even mentally retarded." Result: This week, Susan B. Anthony, an anti-abortion political action group, announced spending $ 52 million to support the president and other Republican candidates in the 2020 electoral cycle.

Our March for Life signs just arrived!

See below for where to get yours on Friday at the March & then wave it high when President Trump comes on stage !!

BTW here's why President Trump is the most #ProLife President. Ever. 👉 https://t.co/YIxqrhVcew#WhyWeMarch pic.twitter.com/sDucfy0wSE

Attract new evangelicals

Today, Donald Trump is ready to give them all the wages to convince them. "Its objective: to attract evangelicals who have shunned the ballot boxes for a long time," said Nicole Bacharan. "Between the 61% pro and 38% against, there is this whole segment of the population that remains malleable depending on the restrictions brought in different states."

In January, New York State signed a bill protecting the right to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks in some cases. Earlier this year, the governors of Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio signed bills banning abortions if an embryonic heart rate could be detected. "There is a great deal of ignorance about the consequences of these restrictions," she comments. "It is on these points that he will seek to convince, to garner new voters for 2020.

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