By: Ryan T. Anderson – wsj.com – April 18, 2023

After the Wisconsin result, Ann Coulter tweeted the conventional wisdom: “The demand for anti-abortion legislation just cost Republicans another crucial race. Pro-lifers: WE WON. Abortion is not a ‘constitutional right’ anymore! Please stop pushing strict limits on abortion, or there will be no Republicans left.”

Ms. Coulter is wrong on several points. There’s no evidence the conservative candidate lost in Wisconsin because of abortion. He lost by the same margin in 2020 when he ran as an incumbent for the same office. Two identical election losses, one before Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and one after, seem hard to blame on abortion. The goal of the pro-life movement has never been merely to make abortion “not a ‘constitutional right’ ” but to protect unborn babies. In Dobbs the pro-life movement won a battle, not the war. And while enacting protections for the unborn can be a political challenge, GOP abandonment of the cause will ensure that “there will be no Republicans left.” This is a truth that even pro-choice Republicans can understand: Their party can’t win elections without its pro-life base turning out to vote.

But the GOP also can’t win if it continues to let Democrats define the terms of the debate. While it’s true that public opinion in America isn’t as protective of children in the womb as it should be, Americans are dramatically more pro-life than the Democratic Party. Taxpayer-funded abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy—the official Democratic platform—is extremely unpopular, going too far even for many Democratic voters. The pro-life movement and the GOP have an opportunity to expose this left-wing extremism.

When articulate politicians do this, they win. Mr. DeSantis—no shrinking violet in front of hostile media—ran for re-election in 2022 having signed into law a pain-capable bill, which protects babies after 15 weeks, that same year. He won by 19 points. Last week, while considering a presidential bid, he signed the heartbeat bill. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine won last year by 25 points after signing a heartbeat law. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott both won decisive victories after signing heartbeat laws. Sen. Marco Rubio was re-elected by 16 points after expressing strong support for a 15-week federal limit.

As Texas and Florida enacted their abortion laws, they also enacted policies to make the choice for life easier. Lawmakers in Austin allocated an additional $100 million to the Texas Alternatives to Abortion Program, and their counterparts in Tallahassee launched an important fatherhood initiative. (Polling shows that lack of support from the child’s father is one of the most significant factors in a woman’s decision to abort.) Florida’s heartbeat bill also came with $25 million in additional annual funding for the Florida Pregnancy Care Network. The pro-life movement has always served both mothers and children, and America’s post-Roe policies should focus both on prohibiting abortion and supporting the choice for life.

All of the laws enacted by the pro-life governors re-elected in 2022—and every current pro-life law in America—have protections for the life of the mother, and several have exceptions in cases of rape or incest.

Running on an absolutist pro-life platform now is the mirror image of the mistake Democrats have made running on an absolutist pro-abortion platform. Some tolerance for less-than-ideal laws is politically necessary. So, too, is a willingness to work incrementally—enacting a pain-capable law today if that’s possible, working to shape public opinion, and passing a heartbeat bill later. Florida accomplished that in only a year.

Given that 93% of abortions in America occur before 13 weeks, the pro-life movement can’t accept European-style abortion policies as a permanent solution. But going beyond that will require moral and political leadership. Several contenders for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination have had difficulty articulating a clear position. Pro-abortion extremists get a free pass to lie about pro-life laws and demonize the party that supports them. Recent pro-abortion ballot initiatives passed and pro-life ones failed largely because pro-lifers lacked leadership, were outspent, and lost the messaging battle.

Despite every abortion prohibition having explicit protections for lifesaving medical care for mothers, media and activists repeatedly asserted in 2022 that pro-life laws jeopardize maternal health. For months, voters heard a barrage of lies about the supposed prohibition of treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriage simply because GOP politicians refused to spend the political capital to respond.

Pro-lifers and the GOP need to push back against these lies at both the state and federal levels. Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation to codify abortion on demand and nullify state-level pro-life laws. The GOP and the pro-life movement can’t allow the pro-abortion left to nationalize the issue, leaving their side to defend pro-life laws at the state level alone.

Most important, GOP leaders need to champion the truth about the precious child in the womb: The entity that ultrasound technicians refer to as “your baby,” whose heartbeat expectant mothers and fathers anxiously wait to hear, and whose grainy pictures we share in text messages, is a human being of profound worth. Standing for the inherent and equal dignity of every human places the pro-life movement on the right side of this issue morally. Compared with Democratic extremism, pro-lifers are also on the right side as a political matter too—so long as they don’t demand everything at once or cower and let the media and pro-abortion politicians drive the conversation.

The pro-life movement needs to work incrementally toward its goal of an America where every child is protected by law and welcomed in life. If we move steadily forward, one step at a time, we will get there.

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Source: Republicans Can Reset the Abortion Debate – WSJ