For most of my adult life, I wasn't very pro-life. I never thought abortion was a great thing, especially when used as birth control for irresponsible people, but I was always more interested in other issues.
And, if I'm being brutally honest -- though it was always an abstract fear -- there was that dread in the back of every young man's head that someone they're dating would become pregnant and, well, you wouldn't necessarily want to deny that woman her "rights," would you?
I never wanted kids when I was younger. I can't imagine any woman wanting to have a child with my younger self, either. But eventually, everyone grows up and their opinions change. Now, I'm married, and I have two great kids. I went from living in fear of children as a concept and never wanting any to wishing I could have a dozen.
That brings me to the annual March for Life. What used to be a commemoration of the Roe v Wade decision is now a celebration of its demise and the continued fight to protect life across the country. It's coming up on January 23.
As that date approaches, it is important to note that there is a growing divide between the pro-life movement and President Trump's MAGA movement. Whether that gap will continue to grow or whether Trump will close it remains to be seen. But with the midterms looming, this problem cannot be ignored.
Wherever you fall on the issue of protecting unborn human life, the pro-life coalition will be a crucial part of any coalition making it possible for Republicans to maintain control of Congress after this year's election.
The Daily Wire recently reported that a "coalition of pro-life leaders urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to take action against 'attacks on the unborn and most vulnerable' they said were coming from inside the White House." Their issue was that the Food and Drug Administration had "approved a generic form of the abortion pill in October and maintained the mail-order abortion regulations."
This move caused Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to say he had "lost confidence in the leadership at the FDA."
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has even pushed off past the midterms publishing any safety reviews of the abortion pill. If you wanted to actively antagonize pro-life voters, this is what you would do.
Add to this the fact that one of Makary's most-trusted deputies, Vinay Prasad, has publicly declared himself "a Bernie Sanders liberal" and "pro universal health care. Pro wealth tax. Pro choice. Etc." It only adds to the rift.
Then there's the fact that Trump recently called for Republicans to end Obamacare subsidies by giving the money directly to the American people -- but "you have to be a little flexible on Hyde, you know that. You gotta be a little flexible, you gotta work something." The Hyde Amendment is the appropriations provision that prevents federal money from being used to fund abortion. Trump's call for "flexibility" did not and does not sit well with pro-life groups.
Activist Lila Rose has posted to her X account, "Trump calls to make the Hyde Amendment 'flexible,' potentially opening the door to taxpayer-funded abortion. The GOP must stand firm for human life. No exceptions. No inch given. If you sacrifice Hyde, you sacrifice innocent human children."
For the pro-life coalition, overturning Roe was not a finish line -- it was a checkpoint. It is a victory to be celebrated, but the fight continues. It is doubtful that the movement's activists thought that fight would come at them from leadership at the FDA or the White House.
For Republicans to win in November, the entire coalition will need to pull together to overcome Democrats. To alienate one of the most motivated and grateful wings of that coalition is not smart politics. It will make the fight unnecessarily more difficult.
The people for whom abortion is a priority that moves their vote will always vote against Republicans, as they are pot-committed to the concept and will not waver. Voters for whom life is the issue that moves their vote, on the other hand, will not vote for someone wavering on abortion -- either in a clinic or by pill. The White House needs to be unambiguous on the issue, lest it lose a crucial voting bloc in a year where every vote will matter.
Derek Hunter is host of The Derek Hunter Show, weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on WMAL in Washington. He is a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.).