By Ahmed Aboulenein and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) – Frustrated abortion opponents met with White House officials on Friday amid growing criticism in the anti-abortion movement that President Donald Trump has not moved aggressively enough to advance key priorities, including new restrictions and stronger enforcement.
The guest list for the meeting was not disclosed but Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said its influential president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, attended.
“Marjorie had a very constructive meeting at the White House today,” said Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for the group.
Earlier this week Dannenfelser told the Wall Street Journal that abortions have risen in the United States since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, adding that “Trump is the problem.”
Tensions have grown between Trump and parts of the anti-abortion movement that were among his strongest political allies during his first presidential campaign.
While activists credit Trump for helping overturn Roe v. Wade through his Supreme Court appointments, some groups say the administration has not followed through with aggressive federal action to curb abortion access, including tighter restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone and enforcement against online pill distributors.
Since Roe’s overturning, Trump has repeatedly said abortion policy should be decided by individual states.
White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster defended the administration’s record.
“President Trump is the most pro-life and pro-family president in American history, and his Administration has announced a series of bold actions to safeguard life and uphold Americans’ fundamental freedoms, including ending federal funding of abortion abroad,” Schuster said in a statement.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group, show abortions have risen since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning its decision making abortion legal nationwide, with an estimated 1,126,000 provided by clinicians in 2025, the highest since 2009, driven largely by the expanded use of abortion pills, which now account for 65% of abortions in states where the procedure is legal.
The pressure campaign has intensified in recent months as Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups push the Food and Drug Administration to revisit safety rules surrounding mifepristone, which is used in more than half of U.S. abortions. Senate Republicans in March launched a probe into abortion pill manufacturers and urged the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on online sales of the drug.
The White House signed off on a plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Makary has been under growing pressure to produce a safety review of mifepristone and Dannenfelser renewed her call this week to fire him.
The debate over abortion medication has escalated following a series of court rulings over mail-order access to mifepristone.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored access to the drug through telemedicine and mail delivery while litigation continues.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Cynthia Osterman)
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