Prominent pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America is urging Republican candidates not to stick their heads in the sand ahead of the 2024 elections, but rather paint 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 political wins to the unpopularity of pro-life causes.
But SBA said in a memo, sent to Republican leaders and committees Monday, that Democrats’ message is more fearmongering than fact, and it wants GOP candidates to emphasize that Democrats want to place America “on a short list of the most pro-abortion countries in the world.”
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“There are no protections for the unborn that Democrats can bring themselves to support, and they are consistently on the record opposing the protection of unborn babies when they can feel pain, even legislation to provide basic health care for a baby born alive after a failed abortion,” the SBA memo says.
Working with a pollster and former adviser to Trump, SBA says a winning message for Republican candidates involves stressing support for mothers at all stages of pregnancy and childbirth.
“The message that performed the strongest in moving voters is driving a strong contrast between Democrat support for the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) and GOP support for providing real options and support for mothers in need and opposition to the WHPA,” SBA wrote. The research was conducted by Adam Schaeffer of Evolving Strategies, a behavioral science and political data firm.
The WHPA passed the House in 2022, but failed in the Senate. Billed as a codification of Roe v. Wade, the measure goes beyond enshrining the 1973 abortion ruling and effectively would make it impossible to restrict abortion at any stage, according to SBA.
“In our test, the WHPA was characterized as sweeping federal legislation that would wipe away nearly all state limitations on abortion, even those that limit late-term abortions on healthy babies and ensure parental involvement when a young girl becomes pregnant,” the SBA memo said.
The other part of the “winning” message involved support for pregnant women and help for mothers – including expanding child tax credits.
“GOP support for mothers in need was characterized in our testing as offering women real options to choose life and embracing policies that would streamline adoption services, increase the child tax credit, make baby items tax-free, and provide funding to pregnancy care centers and maternity homes. Further, women should be informed about the financial help and adoption services available so she can make an educated choice,” the SBA memo said.
SBA said it is committed to delivering its message to key presidential and congressional battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Montana.
But without individual candidates joining the messaging, SBA indicated that Democrats would continue to see success in their spreading “falsehoods and fearmongering” in favor of abortion access.
“Most importantly, candidates themselves must draw this contrast and put money behind it. The ‘ostrich strategy’ from 2022 of candidates putting their heads in the sand cannot be repeated. This is urgent for GOP Senate candidates, who continue to trail across key races despite President Trump holding a consistent lead at the top of the ticket across those same states,” SBA’s memo states.
Trump has ruffled feathers in the pro-life movement for his approach to abortion following the Dobbs decision. He criticized Florida’s restriction on abortion in most cases after six weeks of pregnancy as cruel, but has indicated he would consider a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks.
He has also said abortion restrictions should be a state issue, pushing back on calls for a nationwide protection of life bill, but in numerous rallies and speeches has criticized Democrats for wanting abortion to be legal up to and after birth.
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“Democrats and their abortion industry allies will not stop until America becomes a global abortion factory where women are forced into abortion and find few options when choosing life,” SBA said. “If this happens it will put the pro-life movement in an even worse position than it faced under the Roe regime. We must unite and stop them before it is too late.”
