April 25, 2023
In a Post-Roe America, the pro-life party is up to bat but taking a voluntary strike when they avoid the issue of abortion. Instead of swinging to hit a homerun for preborn babies and women with Roe in the ash heap of history, the biggest players in the pro-life party are accepting an early defeat in the first inning.
As noted by Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President and host of the Explicitly Pro-Life Podcast, Kristan Hawkins, in an op-ed at The Hill entitled, ‘Abortion doesn’t need to be a losing issue for Republicans. Here’s what they should say,’ Hawkins makes the point that the pro-life position is a winning position that shouldn’t be avoided by political leaders.
She wrote:
“Not only has the pro-life position historically provided more voter enthusiasm, it remains a core distinction between the two parties, for those with the skill and fearlessness to make the case. Here’s how they can do so: When asked about abortion, articulate a clear vision.”
Some GOP leaders and consultants in D.C. want separate and UNequal laws for the preborn.
And its pathetic.
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) April 23, 2023
Hawkins laid out a clear path for pro-life leaders on how to address abortion extremism and unite in a messaging battle against the Left (who is very united in their pro-death platform).
“The contrast between a party trying to support mothers and their children (born and preborn) and a party that celebrates abortion all the way to infanticide is extreme. Ask your opponent, “Is there any abortion you wouldn’t welcome,” Hawkins added.
(CLICK HERE to view SFLAction’s petition to former President Donald Trump asking him to keep addressing abortion as a federal issue!)
Protecting life in law and in service, while opposing abortion, is a winning position. In fact, every state legislator who championed SFLAction-inspired pro-life bills from prohibiting Chemical Abortion to Heartbeat Abortion Prevention Acts was reelected during last year’s political cycle.
With groups in all 50 states, SFLAction is engaged across the country and in Congress, working for Heartbeat Abortion Prevention Acts or better, and finding an audience for that message of hope. We’re currently tracking 13 Heartbeat legislation, 8 Life at Conception measures (including resolutions), 9 bills related to Chemical Abortion Pills, 9 that look at late-term limits, and 12 to address medical care for babies born during abortions, though the state list can change daily.
Just this month, life was on the move in Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Florida. Across the country, voters and their elected leaders are responding to the needs of innocent life with legal protection.
Hawkins wrote, “Every election cycle features warnings to Republicans that they must abandon their support for life. But the GOP understands that without the support of the pro-life position, millions of their voters would not vote at all.”
Clearly, life is only a losing issue when you allow it to be. Our reality is that Americans support protections for the preborn with a 2022 OnMessage poll finding that 49% of GOP and 31% of Democrats support limits after a heartbeat detection (often 6-weeks) instead of unlimited abortion until birth. In 2022, more than half of Millennials and Gen Z said they would support a limit on abortion when a heartbeat is detected (52% to 48%).
To read more insight from Hawkins at The Hill including talking points and data to push back against a losing narrative, CLICK HERE!