A leading pro-life group blasted Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) for claiming that abortion is the reason why Republicans did not win a larger majority in the midterm elections.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, released a statement on Monday after Mace’s appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press. During an interview with Chuck Todd, Mace said abortion is “the reason we didn’t get more of a majority.” She added:
We could have had a two dozen-seat majority, but we don’t. This was an issue top of mind for swing voters. When you’re looking ahead to ’24, going to the extremes and digging in, this isn’t going to work for most people. When I look at every issue, not just on Roe v. Wade, but every issue, we’re so divided.
Dannenfelser stated that Mace said she is pro-life “while implying that her Democrat colleagues are currently willing to reach a national compromise on abortion.”
“Yet she failed to mention that every Democrat except one just voted against a bill that would have required babies born alive after a failed abortion to receive basic health care rather than be left to die,” Dannenfelser continued, adding:
Being pro-life requires opposition to the destruction of children and tragic underestimation of women that abortion is – this is first and foremost a human rights issue. And failure to take a strong, coherent stand and contrast it with the extremism of the other side – for example by supporting a minimum national standard limiting abortions when unborn babies’ heartbeats can be detected or when they feel pain – is an abandonment of leadership. It’s also a losing political strategy as we saw in the midterm elections.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has previously slammed attempts by squishy Republicans to blame the less than dazzling outcome of the 2022 midterms on the pro-life movement. Dannenfelser sent out a memo after the midterms, pointing out that:
GOP pro-life candidates win in competitive races if they define their opponents as abortion extremists who support abortion on demand with NO limits, and contrast that with a clearly defined pro-life position centered around consensus such as pain-capable or heartbeat limits.
She pointed to examples of candidates who “did this effectively and either have won or have a strong shot at winnings as races are settled,” including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senator-election Ted Budd (R-NC), Senator-election J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), among others.
“It’s especially worth highlighting governors who signed ambitious pro-life legislation into law and never flinched politically, despite running in competitive states,” she wrote.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a pain-capable law, won by 19.4 percent.
- Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) signed a heartbeat law, won by 25.6 percent.
- Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) signed a heartbeat law, won by 7.5 percent.
- Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed a heartbeat law and a trigger law with complete protections, won by 11.1 percent.
While she said there is “no doubt” the Dobbs decision caused a “political earthquake” and gave Democrats the opportunity to “motivate their depressed base,” the $391 million they spent on abortion-focused TV ads “did not prevail” against “candidates who went on offense.”
“While we have examples of pro-life GOP candidates who were prepared and went on offense, there are also examples of candidates who were not prepared and took the ostrich strategy: burying their heads in the sand and running from the issue, allowing their opponents to define them. A good example of this is Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania,” she wrote.
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