Pro-life advocates have united in pushing Congress to restrict abortion nationally a year after the end of Roe v. Wade but can’t agree on a total ban or 15-week limits.
Activists rallied nationwide on Saturday to celebrate the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That ruling overturned the national right to abortion enshrined in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, returning jurisdiction to state legislatures.
Pro-life advocates haven’t been content to fight abortion in the state legislatures and courts and say it’s time to press their advantage at the federal level. The only question is, “How far?”
Some Republicans advocate keeping abortion legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, with a few restrictions and exceptions. They say most voters support that position and suggest that tighter restrictions could cost them elections.
Others have insisted on a total ban. They say the recognition of life in the womb is a civil rights issue that cannot be compromised.
“We will see,” Rep. Bob Good, Virginia Republican, told The Washington Times. He is drafting legislation for a total ban.
Mr. Good said the number of House Republicans who co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act and signed a discharge petition last year added up to around 180 votes in favor of a total ban.
“So it was the vast majority, it was about 90% of Republicans last term,” said Mr. Good, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus. “I would hope that with us growing our majority a little bit, we would do even better this term.”
Even the most modest abortion limit passed by the Republican-controlled House is unlikely to survive the Democratic-controlled Senate and a presidential veto, but pro-life activists say how they proceed a year after Dobbs is essential to the movement’s future.
“This idea that the states are the only game in town is wrong,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, told the conservative Family Research Council at a gathering Wednesday. “There is not a ‘closed-for-business’ sign out in front of the House and the Senate when it comes to the unborn.”
Mr. Graham introduced legislation last year to set a federal minimum standard at 15 weeks of gestation, with exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the life and physical health of the mother.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and Rep. Elise Stefanik, New York Republican, spoke last week in favor of 15-week limits.
Pro-life groups supporting the bill include the March for Life, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Concerned Women for America, CatholicVote and the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
Former Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also backs the 15-week limit. She said it aligns with polls showing that most Americans oppose elective abortions after the first trimester.
“Of course, there is a role for a federal minimum standard, and I think it’s quite a concession by pro-life groups beginning with the Susan B. Anthony List to say that they could support candidates who support a federal minimum standard of 15 weeks, with the three exceptions,” Ms. Conway said at a Tuesday press briefing.
According to a poll released Friday by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, 77% of voters favor “at least some limits” on abortion by 15 weeks, allowing exceptions for rape or incest. That includes majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents who responded to the survey.
“We believe the science that shows babies in the womb have a beating heart at six weeks, can suck their thumb as early as 10 weeks and feel pain at least by 15 weeks,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
She said: “We believe parents have a right to know if their daughters are considering abortion. And we believe women deserve all the compassion, support and resources the pro-life safety net provides to genuinely empower them — not to be sold an abortion and sent off to figure out how to cope on their own.”
This position may be at odds with many grassroots activists.
Mr. Good spoke Friday outside the U.S. Capitol to a small group of activists who gathered in the drizzling rain to promote a federal ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy.
Joining him at the podium were Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Texas Republican, and Rep. Doug Lamborn, Colorado Republican and a member of the Pro-Life Caucus. Leaders of Students for Life of America, the Human Coalition and Live Action also spoke.
“This must be the next goal of the pro-life movement after Dobbs, the new north star,” said Mr. Lamborn, referring to his recent introduction of a House resolution that would guarantee equal rights under the 14th Amendment beginning at conception.
“Life starts and life stops, and that’s it,” Mr. Crenshaw said.
Mr. Crenshaw and other speakers compared the push for a total abortion ban to the women’s suffrage and civil rights movements.
“Moderation would be wrong now,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.
On Thursday, 26 pro-life leaders signed a letter supporting Mr. Lamborn’s resolution, which compares the fight to recognize the right to life of unborn children to the fight against slavery that resulted in the 1868 addition of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people, and provided “equal protection under the laws.”
Voting for a federal ban on all abortions could be political suicide for many Republican lawmakers, some political analysts said.
“The pro-lifers are floating national bans, and people are saying they’re not ready for it,” said Mary Ziegler, a University of California, Davis, law professor and leading historian of the legal abortion debate. “Most voters want to keep abortion legal in the first trimester and legal after that only with some exceptions. That’s where it’s always been in polls.”
“I don’t think pressing Congress for a national ban on abortion is the most prudent approach to take, at least not right now with divided government,” said Patricia Crouse, a political scientist at the University of New Haven. “I believe resources could be better utilized by taking a state-by-state approach to abortion laws and hope for support in the courts.”
Correction: Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article gave the incorrect constitutional amendment ratified in 1868.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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