Over the past sixteen months or so, America has found itself plagued (or blessed, depending on your viewpoint) by a phenomenon that would have been seen as unfathomable up until very recently. It has divided more people than any event that I can recall in my lifetime, and it has even occasionally resulted in fistfights and the dissolution of longtime friendships. And, of course, everyone has a strong opinion of the man who is spearheading this movement. His name? Donald J. Trump.

Trump, the bombastic real estate mogul and reality television star, has taken the American political system by storm, knocking off sixteen opponents in the Republican Primary, including more than a few household names. Despite his continued and unlikely political success, a solid majority of Americans view Mr. Trump unfavorably. Even as someone who considers himself right-of-center, I see him as a very genuine threat to conservatism in this country. However, there is one issue in particular on which I think conservatives should question him: Abortion.

As someone who is solidly pro-life, there are few things that scare me more than the thought of a Donald Trump presidency. Many have made the case that, because he has publicly stated a newfound pro-life stance, abortion foes should put their faith in him this election. However, there are two main issues that I see with this line of thought.

First of all, it is no secret that the Pro-Life Movement has a serious problem with its image to the average American. The fact of the matter is that pro-lifers are often perceived as both misogynistic and lacking compassion. Those of us within the movement know this to be untrue, but this is still a perception that we need to erase as much as possible. As we know, Mr. Trump has repeatedly said and done things that have been perceived as deeply sexist and misogynistic. Even if you think this image of Trump is inaccurate (I think it's perfectly accurate), we need a candidate who is viewed by the public as a champion for us all and sees dignity in every person. The recent audio tapes on Trump prove that he does not respect women, and this would only further the idea that the same is true of those who oppose abortion, as Mr. Trump claims to do. In order to really shift the needle in our direction, we can and must do better.

Secondly, I simply cannot believe Mr. Trump when he says that he is pro-life. In 1999, while openly weighing a White House run, Trump described himself as "very pro-choice," going so far as to defend the brutal and gory procedure of partial-birth abortion. Even during this campaign cycle, he has made some very questionable remarks on this issue. He has repeatedly defended Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation by far, and has even at one point gone so far as to say that abortion laws shouldn't change, while changing that position days later. Finally, he has said publicly that he believes his sister, who supports even late-term abortion, would be an outstanding Supreme Court justice. Although he now insists that he is pro-life, he has been so flimsy on the issue that he cannot be trusted.

Inevitably, pro-lifers will respond to these arguments by saying that we know what we will be getting with Hillary Clinton, while Trump is at least a wild card. This is true, but remember my first point: Donald Trump does not respect women. Millions of people in this country falsely believe that this is true of all of us, and electing Trump will only provide more evidence for this claim. We cannot shift public opinion on this issue until we are able to convince others that we do, in fact, care for women. In fact, there are more pregnancy resource centers in this country than there are abortion facilities, with almost all of them being operated by pro-lifers. The public needs to be aware of these things before we start to see a cultural shift.

Part of being pro-life means to respect women and empathize with those facing unplanned pregnancies, and Donald Trump does not fit the bill. Do we really want someone who is arguably the most vulgar, crude, and divisive Presidential candidate in history to be the public face of the Pro-Life Movement? I certainly hope not.