The Laughable Hypocrisy of the ‘Pro-Life’ Movement Under Trump
January 29, 2018Last week, President Trump became the first-ever sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual protest against abortion rights timed with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Addressing the tens of thousands of marchers who had gathered at the Capitol via satellite, Trump spoke about the sanctity of life and the power of love. “Every child is a precious gift from God,” he announced, to applause. “We know that life is the greatest miracle of all.”
Introducing Trump before his speech, Vice President Pence praised him as “the most pro-life president in American history.” This was mere days after Trump provoked an international outcry by reportedly wondering why the US government would allow the formerly unborn children of Haiti, El Salvador, and nations of Africa wanted to leave their “shithole” (or, possibly, “shithouse”) countries and move here. It was also in the midst of a congressional stalemate over DACA that left the fates of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who had arrived in the US as children hanging in the balance. On the afternoon of the March for Life, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted a particularly grotesque infographic, one that needlessly pitted these vulnerable undocumented immigrants against sick children who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). “Democrats have a choice to make,” it read. “CHIP or DACA.”