Pro-life leader says movement 'not safe' in Republican party: 'We can't hold back'

Jan 10, 2026 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A major pro-life leader is urging the movement to continue to press for protection for the unborn, calling on advocates to demand more pro-life policy even as the Republican party shows signs of wavering.

“We have to do everything we can to make sure that we’re communicating the moral position and also the political position,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said on Jan. 9.

Dannenfelser spoke to “EWTN News in Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro on President Donald Trump’s recent remarks in which the president urged the Republican party to be more “flexible” regarding the taxpayer funding of abortion.

“Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” the president said on Jan. 6, referring to the long-standing federal Hyde Amendment, which has broadly prohibited taxpayer funding of abortion for nearly half a century.

Speaking to Hadro, Dannenfelser said bluntly: “There’s no flexibility on that.”

“Flexibility should be reserved for what you wear tomorrow, what you’re going to eat tonight, where you go on vacation,” she said. “This is a matter of life and death.”

Hadro noted that during his first run for presidency, Trump had outlined a slate of pro-life promises to voters, including the intent to make the Hyde Amendment “permanent law” rather than a legislative provision. Dannenfelser admitted that she engaged with Trump on pro-life issues during his first term alone.

“Once he got into the second term, he thought he was dealing with the life issue by basically saying, ‘States only, we’re not doing anything else on the federal level’,” she said.

“Now we see the consequence of such a position. It means you can’t even stand firm on the Hyde Amendment,” she argued.

Asked by Hadro whether or not the pro-life movement needs to “face reality” and accept changing political priorities with respect to the Hyde Amendment, Dannenfelser said: “I 100% reject it.”

“There is no chance that the power has left the pro-life position,” she argued.

“We’ve been here before. We’ve been here at moments where there was a weakening in the GOP spine, where we have to do everything that we can to make sure that we’re communicating the moral position and also the political position,” she said.

Dannenfelser argued that the pro-life movement is “at the best place we could possibly be to move forward” and continue advancing pro-life goals.

She admitted, however, that the movement is “not safe” in the current Republican party.

“I think communication is key,” she said. “We can’t hold back in demanding what has been promised and following through.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268993/pro-life-leader-says-movement-not-safe-in-gop-we-can-t-hold-back