It’s our responsibility to hold politicians to a higher standard.
Tomorrow, Vice President JD Vance will be headlining the March for Life rally, and I’m really concerned about what that says about our movement.
You see, the March for Life isn’t like voting. I can understand a pro-life person looking at the two options available in the 2024 presidential election, and making the pragmatic decision to vote for the candidates who had the best chance of protecting prenatal lives. Elections are often a lot like trolley problems, where there are no perfect options that involve no one being hurt.
The March for Life, on the other hand, is our biggest opportunity to represent our cause to the world. We have the opportunity to spotlight our best aspects, while also signaling to an administration that’s been wobbly on core pro-life issues like the Hyde amendment, IVF, and early abortion restrictions that we’re more than just a guaranteed voting block that will give them a rally stage and accolades for doing the bare minimum.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
But right now, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re handing the Trump Administration the rally stage and accolades for doing…honestly less than the bare minimum.
In October of 2025, the Trump Administration greenlit the distribution of a generic version of the abortion pill.
On October 16th, 2025, the Trump Administration announced actions it’s taking to expand access to and lower costs of IVF.
On January 6th, 2026, Trump called for lawmakers to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, suggesting that they should compromise on letting taxpayer money be used to fund abortions.
In December of 2025, the Trump Administration quietly refunded tens of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, which just finally hit the news cycle on January 12th because the ACLU dropped their lawsuit against the administration.
And just four days later, the March for Life excitedly announced that Vice President JD Vance would be the keynote speaker at this year’s March for Life Rally.
The March for Life is the most publicity we can get outside of news outlets blaming abortion restrictions for the deaths of pregnant women. Platforming the Trump Administration at our biggest event right now, given its recent actions, sends the message that we have at best wishy-washy standards for what it means to be and act pro-life.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t work with the Trump Administration or that we shouldn’t be grateful for the things the Administration has done over the past two terms to further the pro-life cause. I am saying that we should hold our politicians accountable rather than celebrating them regardless of what they do or say.
We’re allowed to criticize our own side.
So one reason I’m concerned about giving JD Vance our movement’s biggest platform right now is that it signals to the Trump Administration (and to other people who are watching) that we will give them our unconditional, full-throttled support and celebration even if they’re extremely wishy-washy on core pro-life issues. There’s another reason I’m deeply concerned that is in some ways harder to talk about, but I think it really needs to be said.
Especially when pro-life protections are under attack, it’s a natural instinct to close ranks to protect “our side” from all criticism. However, this is not a sustainable practice in the long term. We must be able to identify when we’re sick, even with a minor illness, and work together to figure out the best plan of treatment. When you talk to the people in your community, whether that’s fellow pro-lifers or your pro-choice friends, you don’t have to hold your pro-life leaders and politicians on a pedestal. We’re all fallible humans, and we’re going to make unwise decisions sometimes. You can and should speak up when the behavior of our leaders concerns you; I want to simply lay out a series of facts that concern me about JD Vance.
On October 14, 2025, a Young Republicans group chat was leaked. I’ll walk through some facts about the chat, and then look at the Vice President’s comments on it. The name of the group and some of the rhetoric around the incident might lead a person to believe that this chat was mostly teenagers and young college students, but the reality is that several of the people involved were between the ages of 24 and 35. Additionally, these were people of influence within the Republican political sphere– leaders of Young Republicans chapters, and even a state senator.
Here are just a few quotes from the leaked group chat. Please note that I’m going to be censoring the worst of it, but the original messages were not censored.
“I was about to say you’re giving nationals to [sic] much credit and expecting the Jew to be honest”
“Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber. And everyone that endorsed but then votes for us is going to the gas chamber”
“Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic”
“If your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there. Scream the no no word.”
“I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball.” (In reference to an NBA game)
“RAPE HAYDEN” (in reference to a rival Young Republicans leader)
“Minnesota – f****ts Arkansas – inbred cow f**kers Nebraska – revolt in our favor; blocked their bind and have a majority of their delegates Maryland – fat stinky Jew … Rhode Island – traitorous c***s who I will eradicate from the face of this planet.” (in reference to Young Republicans groups in other states)
There were over 200 instances of slurs against gay, black, and disabled people. Black people were called “monkeys” and “watermelon people.” One member called rape “epic.”
On the whole, I’m actually pleased with the overall conservative response to this behavior. Many Young Republicans leaders denounced these messages, and two of the involved Young Republicans chapters were either suspended or disbanded.
What I’m not impressed with is the Vice President’s response to this incident. He downplayed it as kids making harmless jokes.
“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke – telling a very offensive, stupid joke – is cause to ruin their lives.”
I’m an advocate for restorative justice, and I don’t believe in ruining anyone’s life. I think all the people involved with these awful comments should be able to learn from their bad behavior, repent of it, and live peacefully with their families. But it’s honestly disgusting that he thinks incessant use of slurs and jokes about sexual assault are just normal kid behaviors that don’t need further scrutiny. When we as the pro-life movement give JD Vance our biggest platform, we communicate to people watching that his normalizing what happened in that group chat isn’t a big deal to us, and by extension that what was said in that group chat isn’t a big deal to us either.
Ask yourself, if you saw your teenage son saying these things, would you shrug that off with no consequences? How much worse is it that we can’t even hold grown adults in positions of leadership and influence to any standards, and that our President’s second in command scolds anyone who tries to?
Frankly, there are even more examples I could give of actions and statements from the Vice President and the administration that a lot of Americans—including a lot of conservatives—find highly reprehensible, but this one example ought to be enough to give us pause. Even if you ultimately disagree with me, I hope you can see why I find this story deeply concerning.
And I think this matters.
If we want to keep unborn children from being stripped of their legal protections, we need people to see us as morally upright, logically consistent, genuinely interested in human flourishing, and loving towards women. By accepting Vance as the headliner for our movement’s biggest event, we’re proudly tying ourselves to a man and administration associated with shrugging off vile rhetoric, expanding access to the abortion pill and IVF, and reinstating taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. And all of this—everything I’ve mentioned—these are only things that have happened since October. These are things that today’s pro-choice people remember, that can and will be tied back to us by our movement’s choice to align ourselves wholeheartedly with the Trump Administration.
I’m not saying that what JD Vance has said or done is a “cause to ruin his life.” I am saying that we shouldn’t be deliberately holding up JD Vance as the representative of the pro-life movement.
Now what.
Most of you reading this are regular, grassroots pro-lifers who have no say in who speaks from the March for Life rally stage. You’re also not responsible for every gross thing someone who calls themselves pro-life says, does, or excuses. But I do want you to remember that you’re allowed to criticize your own side, and you can and should demand more from those representing us.
1) Platform the best of us in your own conversations and posts
I believe that the pro-life movement can and must do better than holding up JD Vance as our number one representative. We have many people within our ranks who represent the best of us–pregnancy center directors, life-affirming physicians, advocates for pregnant women’s rights in schools and workplaces. These are typically the kind of speakers you’ll find at your local 40 Days for Life rallies and state marches for life. Show up and cheer them on. Share their videos on social media. Highlight the work they’re doing to help real women in your community to your friends and family.
2) How we present ourselves matters
You might not have any say in who takes the stage this weekend, but you have a say in how you present yourself as a pro-life advocate. Be kind and gracious. Reject cruelty. Love your neighbor. Lift up people who demonstrate high moral character. Make positive arguments for your positions instead of just denigrating the other side. You are a representative of our movement, and your representations can have a tremendous impact on your local community.
3) Still go to the March for Life
Given the timing of this post, everyone who’s planning to attend the march in person is already in DC freezing their toes off. But for the sake of argument, would I advocate for anyone to boycott the march based on a flawed man getting the spotlight? I believe the answer is no. Maybe skip the rally in favor of a smaller concurrent event, or maybe refrain from cheering for someone you find objectionable, but still go. This is the largest gathering of pro-lifers you’ll attend, and you’ll never have a better opportunity to find people who share your values, whether that’s with one of the “alt” pro-life groups or a gathering of folks from your specific faith tradition. You can hold a sign that advertises your vision of what you want our movement to be. You can look around at a sea of regular people who don’t do this work full time, and consider whether our power comes from national organizations and politicians or from all of the people like you who support us with their time, money, and prayers.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. I especially appreciate you if you read through all of this while also disagreeing with portions. These are difficult times, and your thoughtful consideration is part of shaping us into a healthier, more sustainable movement.
The post We Need Better Representatives originally appeared at the Equal Rights Institute blog. Subscribe to our email list with the form below and get a FREE gift. Click here to learn more about our pro-life apologetics course, “Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations About Abortion.”