Anti-Abortion Leaders Express Disappointment in Trump’s States-Only Approach After Roe Overturning

The annual March for Life rally in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2026. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Leaders in the anti-abortion movement are ringing alarm bells, describing the current moment as an existential crisis for their cause. Despite achieving headline victories—such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade (1973) in 2022—they expected far greater progress under a Republican-led government.

Key factors once seen as advantageous to the movement include:

• Republican allies in Congress
• A Supreme Court sympathetic to their cause
• Donald Trump, whom they helped return to the White House and who has embraced the title of the most “pro-life” president ever

Yet, the movement’s leaders argue that Trump’s administration has fallen short of their expectations. The president’s states-only strategy, which defers abortion regulation to individual states rather than pursuing a national ban, has drawn sharp criticism.

“If the Republican Party fully follows this administration’s states-only strategy and abandons its commitments to pro-life action at the national level, then the movement as we know it is finished.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, made this warning during the group’s April gala. She added, “There are more abortions in the United States now than there were on the day that Roe was overturned.”

The movement’s frustration stems from the Trump administration’s approach to regulating mail-order abortion pills. Rather than pushing for a federal ban, the administration has largely deferred to state-level decisions, allowing for a patchwork of regulations.

Philip Wegmann, a White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of the article The anti-abortion movement is turning on Trump, joined Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram to discuss the movement’s shifting fortunes. Wegmann noted that anti-abortion groups had anticipated a flurry of state-level battles following the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. However, they also believed the decision left room for federal action.

“These lobbying groups thought that the decision from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade would mean fewer abortions in the United States,” Wegmann said. “Was that kind of their bad for thinking that?”

The anti-abortion movement’s disappointment extends to the Trump administration’s refusal to support a federal abortion ban. Additionally, the administration has:

• Approved a generic version of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions
• Retained Biden-era regulations allowing women to obtain abortion pills via telehealth without an in-person doctor’s visit

The movement’s leaders argue that Republicans are failing to act at a critical juncture, while Democrats have pushed forward with policies that expand access to abortion.