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Are pro-lifers going to allow themselves to be a cheap date? said Patrick Brown, a fellow with the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Centers Life and Family Initiative. Are they going to sit back and take it when candidates are denigrating the cause they dedicated their life to?

Trumps attempt to have it both ways on the fraught issue calling himself the most pro-life president ever and taking credit for the fall of Roe v. Wade while also shunning the priorities of the anti-abortion groups that helped elect him in 2016 has exposed those groups struggle for relevance in a lopsided primary and highlighted ongoing divisions inside the movement.

Donald Trump has called himself the most pro-life president ever while also shunning the priorities of the anti-abortion groups that helped elect him in 2016. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Some groups say they will give the frontrunner more time to clarify his position and expect he will eventually support a national abortion ban. Other groups, anxious about Trump watering down his abortion stance, are mulling various tactics, including making a primary endorsement, protesting outside his upcoming events, and redirecting their campaign budget to down ballot races.

He wont feel pressure until its applied, and were willing to apply it, said Kristi Hamrick, the chief policy strategist with Students for Life of America. You cannot ignore the human rights issue of our time and still get our vote.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America confirmed to POLITICO that it is moving ahead with plans to spend more than the $78 million it shelled out on the 2022 election cycle to turn out anti-abortion rights voters in 2024. But a leader within the organization acknowledged the posture of the GOPs runaway contender makes their work harder.

Looking at a general, hes going to need all Republicans to come home if hes going to beat Joe Biden, Billy Valentine, SBAs vice president of political affairs, said. Hes going to need the base in order to win ultimately, and hes going to need a clear position. In the absence of a clear position, the Democrats are going to define him.

Other GOP presidential candidates have aligned themselves with SBAs call for a federal ban, but the organization is boxed in by Trumps dominant lead and is unlikely to endorse, several of its leaders told POLITICO.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said he and other anti-abortion leaders have privately spoken with Trump and his campaign and are confident that he will eventually champion their calls for state and national bans.

Yet Trump handily won the Family Research Councils straw poll on Saturday even after he painted the issue as an electoral loser and rejected the groups call for federal abortion limits during a Friday speech to the groups annual conference in Washington D.C.

Politically, its very tough, he told the audience. We had midterms, and this was an issue.

Ahead of the anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the DNC launched a billboard in Times Square highlighting Donald Trump's support for a national abortion ban. | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

His opponents for the GOP nomination, seeing an opening to pry away conservative voters, moved quickly to draw a contrast.

I dont know how you can even make the claim that youre somehow pro-life if youre criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies that have heartbeats, Trump campaign rival Ron DeSantis told a radio host in the early voting state of Iowa on Monday. Its a window into how hes changing as hes running this campaign, and I think hes changing in a way that is not consistent with the values of the people in Iowa.

I think all pro-lifers should know that hes preparing to sell you out, DeSantis, the governor of Florida, added.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence also rushed to attack Trump for refusing to back a 15-week national ban, with Pence accusing him of trying to marginalize the cause of life after his own speech to the Family Research Council.

In response to criticisms from DeSantis and others, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung touted Trumps record on abortion.

Nominating pro-life federal judges and Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade, which others have tried for over 50 years, ending taxpayer funded abortions, [reinstating] the Mexico City Policy that protects the life of the unborn abroad, and many other actions that championed the life of the unborn, Cheung said.

Several conservative movement leaders told POLITICO that while Trump remains popular, his post-White House words have forced them to question how much of an ally he would be if elected and how they can pull him back in their direction.

Trumps base is pretty solid, but this is one thing that can really shake his base unless its a pure cult of personality and not one of principle, said John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council and author of Legacy of Life: Honoring 50 of the greatest pro-life leaders of the last 50 years.

Its going to be a real test for pro-lifers that support him, added Stemberger, who likes DeSantis but wants him to commit to signing a federal anti-abortion law. Its just stunning to me that hes ignoring the primary issue of social conservatives and Christians.

Many conservatives also took issue with Trumps insistence in a Sunday interview on Meet the Press that he would be able to negotiate a deal on abortion with Democrats and settle the issue once and for all.

One anti-abortion group, the Human Coalition Action, blasted him for seeking compromises on the amount of mass death we find legally acceptable, while Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, poured cold water on the idea even as he praised Trumps anti-abortion record.

Democrats are never going to let voters forget that he overturned Roe, he said. He cant pretend hes going to come out with a plan theyre going to like. They dont like him and never will.

Schilling added that many anti-abortion rights leaders are hesitant to speak up about these concerns well aware that Trump has most likely secured the nomination with or without their support.

I have friends in the movement who are keeping their powder dry because they dont want to ruin their ability to influence him, he said. When you attack someone unfairly, it just burns bridges.

Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, also sees Trumps pledge to negotiate a compromise as unrealistic, at best, but acknowledges its likely to appeal to a significant number of voters.

I can see why, for people who arent involved in the pro-life movement, that sounds like a really good thing, she said. Theyre thinking, Thank God. Hes going to take away this issue that divides us. I hate the fact that when I turn on my TV, theyre saying the word abortion. I just dont want to talk about this anymore. But he just cant do it, because there are lives at stake.

Some Democrats and abortion rights activists are also worried Trumps calls for compromise and moderation could win people over. They scrambled over the past week to remind voters of Trumps staunch anti-abortion rights record during his first term.

NARAL, which this week changed its name to Reproductive Freedom For All, called Trump a skilled bluffer and said his tack to the center reveals an awareness that support for abortion rights has climbed since Roe fell and the issue has the power to decide elections.

Its clear Republicans are reading the same polls we are and know its a toxic issue for them, said Ryan Stitzlein, the groups vice president of political and government relations. The fact they havent landed on a unified strategy shows they dont know how to handle this. So you have candidates scrubbing their websites or refusing to talk about it, and you have people like Trump trying to portray themselves as a moderate.

Unsure how to bring Trump back into their fold, anti-abortion rights advocates warn that while this tack to the center might win over some voters, it will lose him the support of the ones he needs most.

Pro-lifers are not going to vote for Joe Biden, but we need to give them a reason to vote at all, Perkins said. Donald Trump has a lot of capital with conservatives, but we saw in the last election how narrow it can be. Every vote counts.

CLARIFICATION: The group that criticized Donald Trump for seeking to compromise with Democrats is the Human Coalition Action, a 501(c)4.

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