The opposition to Donald Trump comes as the Republican Party tries to distance itself from accusations that it is engaging in a “war on women.” | AP Photo 2016 Anti-abortion groups say they distrust Trump “One has to question how deep it goes," one activist says.

Donald Trump says he's ardently anti-abortion. But some of the most active anti-abortion groups are skeptical of his conversion and furiously lobbying for anyone but Trump.

“He worries me a lot,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List, citing the billionaire’s comments that he might consider former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as a running mate — or his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, as a Supreme Court justice. Both Brown and Barry support abortion rights. “One has to question how deep it goes,” she said.


Trump has been loath to speak at length about what drove his conversion — he previously backed abortion rights — or how he settled on his current position opposing abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to protect a woman’s life. That’s in stark contrast with the younger Republican candidates, such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, who frequently talk passionately about their opposition to abortion.

On Tuesday, a group of 10 women who oppose abortion rights, including Dannenfelser, wrote an open letter to Iowa’s voters, urging them to support “anyone but Donald Trump.”

“On the issue of defending unborn children and protecting women from the violence of abortion, Mr. Trump cannot be trusted and there is, thankfully, an abundance of alternative candidates with proven records of pro-life leadership whom pro-life voters can support,” they wrote.

As recently as 2000, Trump said he supported abortion rights and identified himself as “very pro-choice.”

“I am strongly for choice but yet I hate the concept of abortion,” he said on "Meet the Press" in late 1999, when he was thinking about a third-party run for president. “I am pro-choice in every respect.”

He made similar comments in a 2000 book, "The America We Deserve," but added that he opposed so-called partial birth abortions, which he had previously supported.

By 2011, he identified himself as “pro-life.”

Many in the anti-abortion community say that if Trump says he has changed his mind on abortion, they’re willing to believe him, noting that Ronald Reagan was once for abortion rights and that their movement is growing because of conversions. But they're concerned he has not made a commitment to appoint judges opposed to abortion rights, especially in light of his comments about considering his sister and Brown for top positions.

Both sides of the abortion debate know the next president will likely appoint Supreme Court justices — perhaps more than the two that most recent presidents have chosen.

Abortion foes are hoping for a chance to tilt the court away from abortion in order to undo the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a legal right to abortion.

“The only [candidate] that many in the pro-life movement are still kind of questioning would be Donald Trump,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “I think many pro-lifers are still waiting, or still hoping that he would be more clear on his position.”

Trump’s position on abortion has gotten little attention until this week, seven days before the Iowa caucuses. He has gotten the support of prominent abortion foes such as Sarah Palin and pastor Jerry Falwell Jr. But starting Monday, Cruz began hitting Trump with his one-time support for partial-birth abortion in television ads.

In response to a question about Trump’s position on abortion, a spokesman pointed to a recent Washington Examiner op-ed, in which he wrote, “Let me be clear — I am pro-life. I support that position with exceptions allowed for rape, incest or the life of the mother being at risk. I did not always hold this position, but I had a significant personal experience that brought the precious gift of life into perspective for me.”

The opposition to Trump also comes as the Republican Party tries to distance itself from accusations that it is engaging in a “war on women.” Not only has Trump sharply criticized Fox News host Megyn Kelly and rival Carly Fiorina, a favorite of women who oppose abortion, he has boasted of hosting the first strip-club casino in the country, said Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America.

Nance said that she was invited by a Trump staffer to a recent meeting of evangelical leaders with him in New York. She suggested a meeting of women who oppose abortion instead, but was refused.

“I told [the Trump team], 'you need to know this isn’t going to be a love fest, this is going to be a serious conversation in which we try to convince him that our position is right on abortion,'” she said. “I think he is a political opportunist.”

Opposition from anti-abortion advocacy groups carries risks for a Republican nominee. As a voting bloc, they’re active and willing to volunteer for a candidate.

“Pro-lifers like to support candidates that they know are going to be there,” Tobias said. “A lot of them are going to vote against Hillary or Bernie, regardless of who is on the ticket. But he would get, I think, more enthusiasm and more work out of the grass roots if he were a little more forthcoming on his position.”