Donald Trump recruits hardline anti-abortion activist, Marjorie Dannenfelser, to consolidate evangelical support

Donald Trump has quietly doubled down on his anti-abortion stance appointing one of the pro-life movement’s most radical activists, Marjorie Dannenfelser, to lead what he calls his ‘Pro-Life Coalition’.

In a letter to anti-abortion groups Mr Trump vows to appoint Supreme Court justices who will support new curbs on abortion rights and to make permanent the so-called Hyde Amendment which forbids the use of tax-payers’ money to subsidise terminations.

He also pledges in the letter to ban federal funding of Planned Parenthood for as long as it offers abortions as part of its broader array of health services at women’s clinics around the country.

The startling shift to the right on the issue this late in the race for the White House is an attempt by the Republican nominee finally to quell doubts among conservatives that he is a true believer in the cause they care the most about.

Aside from being on record before he began seeking the presidency offering support for a woman's right to chose, he separately appalled many conservatives - and liberals - earlier in the election when he said in a television interview that women who violate laws in seeking termiantions should be punished for it. He later rowed back on the comment.

Ms Dannefeiser is the leader the Susan B. Anthony List which has its ultimate mission the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling of 1973 that made abortion legal in the United States within certain boundaries. She was for a long time foremost among sceptics who openly questioned Mr Trump’s seriousness about embracing the cause.

The letter, first reported by The Hill, surfaced at a time when attention was focused elsewhere, namely on Mr Trump’s reversal on birtherism, which had seen him questioning whether President Barack Obama was American-born, and comments that he made late on Friday saying he’d like to see what would happen to Ms Clinton if her armed security was taken away.

He uses his letter also to attack Ms Clinton on her very clear pro-choice stance.

“Hillary Clinton’s unwavering commitment to advancing taxpayer-funded abortion on-demand stands in stark contrast to the commitments I’ve made,” Mr Trump writes, “to advance the rights of unborn children and their mothers when elected president.”

The Susan B. Anthony List, which opposes abortion in all circumstances and has huge influence by giving - or withholding - endorsements for Republican candidates for Congress depending on how forcefully they espouse pro-life positions, much like the National Rifle Association, NRA, does on the subject of gun ownership, offered a strong welcome of Mr Trump’s shift.

Ms Dannenfelser will seek to mobilise “national and statewide anti-abortion leaders, with a particular emphasis on people in battleground states,” to activate their “spheres of influence” in support of the Trump campaign, the group’s spokeswoman, Mallory Quigley, said.

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Originally passed in 1976, the Hyde Amendment is for now not permanent law but is routinely attached to other bills passed by Congress. It’s principle effect is to prevent women using Medicaid, the health subsidy system for poorer Americans, to pay for terminations, except in cases where the health of the fetus or the mother is at risk.

It makes it much more difficult for under-privileged women in America - which often means women from minority communities - to exercise their right under Roe v. Wade to end a pregnancy in the early weeks if they choose to. The Susan B. Anthony List also prioritises passing a law to make all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy illegal, regardless of the circumstances, including in cases of rape or incest.

Lashing out at Ms Clinton, Mr Trump says that she “supports abortion until an hour before birth,” which has no basis in fact. She has stated that abortions contemplated after the point of a fetus’ viability should only be performed after consultation between the patient and her doctor where risks of harm to the unborn baby or the mother have been diagnosed.

“I am writing to invite you to join my campaign’s Pro-Life Coalition, which is being spearheaded by longtime leader Marjorie Dannenfelser,” Mr Trump writes in the letter. “As we head into the final stretch of the campaign, the help of leaders like you is essential to ensure that pro-life voters know where I stand, and also know where my opponent, Hillary Clinton, stands.”

The nervousness among conservatives about Mr Trump’s pro-life credentials were partly assuaged when he chose Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as his running mate. Mr Pence has a radical record of opposing abortion. Earlier this year he signed a new law for his state making it illegal to seek abortions in instances where fetal abnormalities have been detected.