Anti-abortion activists took to social media and online outlets following the State of the Union to counter President Donald Trump's statements about in vitro fertilization and express disappointment that he hadn’t discussed abortion instead. 

The reaction to the president's failure to align with the anti-abortion wing of his party in the address to the nation is only the most recent example of growing tensions between the administration and a faction of its base.  

In his address on Tuesday evening, Trump highlighted a woman who had purchased medication through TrumpRx, saying, “For five years, she and her husband have struggled with infertility and they turned to IVF.” He continued, “We are all praying for you and you're going to be a great mom.” 

Anti-abortion advocates pushed back against the president's approval of IVF. 

MAHA influencer and Turning Point USA podcaster Alex Clark wrote on Instagram, “Expanding access to IVF HURTS WOMEN. IVF is expensive, has a terrible success rate, high miscarriage rate, and does NOT solve the root cause that is causing a woman's infertility in the first place.” 

The Blaze's Allie Beth Stuckey also turned to her social media audience following the comments, writing, “Funding IVF is going in the WRONG direction.” 

Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins provided a similar “assessment” of Trump's address, telling her audience, “He touted his new TrumpRX platform for giving discounted IVF drugs. Let's be very clear about IVF. IVF kills more children every year in our country than abortion.” She added, “We need to have a very serious conversation with our friends in the Republican Party about why they're wrong on IVF.” 

Hawkins' disappointment with the administration was shared by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion organization that urged users to “flood the president's mentions” prior to the State of the Union in the hopes that he would address abortion pill access in his speech.

After Trump failed to mention abortion, the organization responded, “Record-breaking length, zero accountability. Last night’s #SOTU ignored the reality of abortion drugs - which now drive most abortions and endanger women across the country. Americans deserve leadership that addresses the truth, not avoids it.”

The President of SBA Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, also published a commentary in the National Catholic Register, writing that Trump had made a “mistake” by failing to address the abortion pill and noted that “this is a core constituency that needs to be reassured, from the top of the ballot down.”

The National Review seemingly summarized the sentiments of anti-abortion activists following the address, writing, “Once again, for anyone in the back who couldn’t hear: The Republican Party is not pro-life.”

Frustration with Trump's lack of action on the abortion pill access has been a feature of anti-abortion media coverage in recent months. Anti-abortion figures have accused the administration of delaying a review of the abortion pill, claimed that his administration is “undermining pro-life culture,” and threatened the GOP with “devastating” midterm results if it fails to align with the movement.