One year ago, the Supreme Court restored our right to protect unborn children in the Dobbs decision. Now, it’s clearer than ever that life is winning in America: 24 states have honored the will of their people by putting pro-life protections in place for both mother and child, and tens of thousands of lives have already been saved.
There is much more work to be done but the fields are shining for harvest. The media paint a picture of a deeply divided country. In reality, Americans agree far more than we disagree on life.
Americans overwhelmingly agree that babies should be protected at least when they feel pain, with some exceptions. We agree that the life of the mother must be protected — so does every state with strong pro-life laws. And the majority of Americans, alongside Republicans, reject taxpayer funding of abortion.
We need to be clear-eyed: America is one of only seven countries in the world alongside China and North Korea that allows abortion on demand past five months. When we say President Biden and the Democratic Party want to impose that extreme position on all 50 states, it ruffles feathers. But don’t take our word for it. Look at their record.
Americans agree that sending abortion pills through the mail is dangerous and a recipe for abuse. Democrats’ talking point is that abortion should be between a woman and her doctor. Under Biden’s politicized Food and Drug Administration (FDA), mail-order abortions can now be between a young woman, the post office, and her ex-boyfriend or trafficker. Women are left to fend for themselves, and complications are only tracked if they die.
We agree that parents know what’s best for their children and want to protect them from harm. Whether you are pro-life or not, Americans agree that parents have a right to be involved in the biggest, most life-altering decision their daughters may ever make. It’s Biden and the radical Left who say there is no such thing as someone else’s child and parents are merely “barriers” to the pro-abortion agenda.
We agree that showing compassion to women in unexpected pregnancies is the way to move forward. Heartbreakingly, nearly 70 percent of women who have abortions say their abortions were coerced, unwanted or didn’t reflect their values. Most say they wouldn’t have aborted their child if they had more financial or emotional support. More than 3,000 pregnancy centers and maternity homes across America exist to provide that support – assisting with food, housing, parenting classes, clothes, aftercare, job training, and more – to empower families throughout pregnancy and beyond. Even more encouraging, states like Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas have approved tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the safety net, including adoption and foster care.
We agree that political violence is unacceptable and the government shouldn’t harass people for being pro-life. Yet over the last year, we’ve seen unprecedented violence and targeting of peaceful pro-life advocates – not just from pro-abortion radicals but by the federal government. Since the unprecedented leak of the draft Supreme Court decision, there have been nearly 90 attacks on pregnancy centers and pro-life groups, from vandalism to firebombing. Just recently an elderly man was viciously beaten for daring to pray outside Planned Parenthood.
While the attacks were still ongoing, Biden’s DOJ sent two dozen armed FBI agents to raid the family home of a pro-life Catholic father. The Democrat attorney general of New York even called nonviolent pro-lifers “terrorists” for trying to save babies from abortion.
What our country needs more than ever is a national defender of life who will embrace and champion the will of Americans. At a minimum, that means listening to the will of the people and the science by protecting unborn babies who can feel pain from abortions later than 15 weeks. States must have the right to enact stronger protections if they choose. But this is a human rights issue, and whether babies are subjected to painful late-term abortions shouldn’t be determined by whether a state is red, blue, or purple.
We have a long way to go to rebuild a culture of life across our great nation, but with Roe v. Wade sent to the ash heap of history where it belongs, Americans finally have a voice and a seat at the table. We’re proud of that, and we will not rest or relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of our law.
Mike Pence was the 48th vice president of the United States and is a current candidate to be the Republican nominee for president. Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
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