Prominent pro-life group Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America is urging Republican candidates not to shirk reality ahead of the 2024 election, but instead to portray Democrats as unpopular on abortion.
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned nearly 50 years of precedent that effectively legalized abortion, Democrats have attributed their political victories to the unpopularity of the pro-life movement.
But the S.B.A. I wrote it in a memoA statement sent to Republican leaders and committees on Monday called for GOP candidates to emphasize that Democrats’ messaging is more fear-mongering than facts and that Democrats want to put the U.S. “on the short list of the most pro-abortion countries in the world.”
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“There are no unborn protections that Democrats can support, and they have consistently opposed protections for unborn children who feel pain, even bills that would provide basic health care for babies born alive after botched abortions,” the SBA memo said.
Pro-life supporters participate in a “Rally for Life” march and celebration outside the state capitol on January 27, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
The SBA, working with pollsters and former advisers to President Trump, says a winning message for Republican candidates would include emphasizing support for mothers at every stage of pregnancy and birth.
“The messages that were most effective in swaying voters created a strong contrast between Democratic support for the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) and Republican support for providing real options and support to mothers in need and opposing the WHPA,” the SBA wrote. The survey was conducted by Adam Schafer of Evolving Strategies, a behavioral science and political data firm.
The WHPA passed the House of Representatives in 2022 but died in the Senate. According to the SBA, the bill, which would codify Roe v. Wade, would not only enshrine the 1973 abortion ruling into law, but would also make it virtually impossible to restrict abortion at any stage.
“Our testing characterized the WHPA as a sweeping federal law that would eliminate nearly all state abortion restrictions, even those that restrict late-term abortions of healthy babies or ensure parental involvement when a girl becomes pregnant,” the SBA memo said.
Another part of the “victory” message was support for pregnant women and aid for new mothers, including an expansion of the child tax credit.
“Our research characterizes Republican support for mothers in need as one that actually offers women a choice in life and embraces policies such as streamlining adoption services, increasing the child tax credit, making baby products tax-free, and funding pregnancy care centers and maternity hospitals. Additionally, women should be informed about available financial assistance and adoption services so they can make an educated choice,” the SBA memo said.
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The SBA said it is committed to getting its message across key battleground states in the presidential and congressional elections: Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Montana.
But without individual candidates joining the message, the SBA suggested, Democrats will be successful in continuing to spread “falsehoods and fear-mongering” in support of abortion rights.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser (right) called on Republican candidates to clarify their commitment to protecting life in the womb. (Fox News Digital)
“Most importantly, the candidates themselves must draw this contrast and commit to it. The ‘ostrich strategy’ of 2022, in which candidates bury their heads in the sand, cannot be repeated. This is especially urgent for Republican Senate candidates, who continue to trail in primary races even as President Trump consistently holds top leads in the same states,” the SBA memo said.
Trump’s stance on abortion since the Dobbs decision has sent ripples through the pro-life movement: He has criticized Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy as cruel, but has said he would consider a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks.
He has also said abortion regulation should be a state issue and has opposed calls for a national pro-life bill, but at numerous rallies and speeches he has criticized Democrats who want to legalize abortion before and after birth.
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“Democrats and their abortion industry allies will not stop until America is the global abortion factory, where women are forced into abortions and have little choice but to choose life,” the SBA said. “If that happens, the pro-life movement will be in a worse position than it was under the Roe regime. We must come together and stop them before it’s too late.”
