On Saturday, many Republican presidential hopefuls descended to Clive, Iowa, for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual presidential forum. The event was important since it allowed presidential candidates to court the evangelical vote and flaunt their pro-life positions and ideas. Noticeably, the two GOP front-runners for the nomination, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), did not attend in person but will visit the state next month.

However, President Trump did send a prerecorded video message in which he recalled his nominations to the Supreme Court, his attendance at the March for Life, his stands in favor of religious liberty, and how he plans to fight against late-term abortions if elected to a second term. 

“From my first day in office, I took historic action to protect the unborn,” Trump said in his message. 

Trump’s remarks came after some recent criticism of him by pro-life groups after the Trump campaign refused to comment on Florida’s new six-week ban on abortion and mentioned that Trump’s position was that the issue should be left up to individual states. 

“President Donald J. Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three Justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the State level,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in the statement. 

Some pro-life groups, such as the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America, released a statement responding to the Trump campaign’s position, saying that “President Trump’s assertion that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion solely to the states is a completely inaccurate reading of the Dobbs decision and is a morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold.”

DeSantis Signs New Law That Will Ensure Heinous Criminals Face Justice

There were other presidential hopefuls in the annual forum, among them former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder, former Representative Will Hurd of Texas, Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democrat who is now a conservative, and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson. 

Regardless, it was Pence’s speech that seemed to rake in most of the attention. In his remarks, Pence disagreed with President Trump, saying that “I do think it’s more likely that this issue is resolved at the state level, but I don’t agree with the former president, who says this is a states-only issue. We’ve been given a new beginning for life in this country. I think we have an opportunity to advance the sanctity of life, move it ever closer to the center of American law.” 

Pence also mentioned that a federal ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy should be part of the national debate over abortion while also making clear that he believes that “the Supreme Court didn’t turn the issue of abortion over to the states; they turned it over to the American people.”

Though it is still early in the campaign, it seems obvious that abortion will be a defining piece of the political debate, not only in the Republican primaries but also in the general election. Democrats, for example, believe that abortion is an electoral strength, especially since achieving better-than-expected electoral results during the 2022 midterm elections and winning various referenda and wins in Wisconsin. 

Regardless, as Henry Olsen points out in The Washington Post, “The abortion issue likely helps Democrats on the margin today, but it’s not the magic bullet many think it is” since pro-life governors such as Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Ron DeSantis, Brian Kemp (R-GA) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) all won their elections comfortably along with other pro-life victories. In short, there is much Republicans and pro-lifers can do to win the battle for life, but there is a need for “Pro-Life statesmanship,” and that is why the Iowa forum is so important.

You Can Follow Rodney on Twitter Here