We Must Defund Planned Parenthood Again This Year

Ramesh makes a number of good points in his Tuesday post responding to Frank DeVito of the Napa Institute. Indeed, public attitudes on the issue of abortion may not be where pro-lifers would like them to be. That said, Ramesh is correct that there exist a number of federal pro-life policy goals that are broadly consistent with public opinion. It is both good politics and good policy for pro-lifers to push for 1) limits on Planned Parenthood funding, 2) restrictions on chemical abortions and 3) limits on late-term abortions.

I would also remind readers that because of circumstances largely beyond our control, pro-lifers had very little leverage during the 2024 election cycle.  Donald Trump was going to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. There was very little that pro-life activists could do to either help him or hurt him. As a result, Trump did not make the same commitments to pro-lifers that he did in previous election cycles. The pro-life plank was removed from the Republican Party’s platform, and President Trump declined to support a federal ban on late-term abortions.

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That said, 2028 will be a different story. There is a very strong chance that Vice President Vance will be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. However, there will still be a competitive Republican presidential primary. Because pro-lifers constitute a large and important bloc of Republican presidential primary voters, various Republican presidential candidates will likely make stronger public commitments to a range of pro-life policy goals.

In the meantime, pro-lifers should continue to push the Trump administration to prioritize certain pro-life policies. There are several things that pro-lifers can do to help our own cause. More victories on state-level ballot questions would show that the pro-life movement is strong politically. Additionally, research on the harms of unregulated chemical abortions and more exposure of Planned Parenthood misconduct would also make it politically easier for the Trump administration to take action on several issues of interest to the pro-life movement.

LifeNews Note: Michael J. New is an assistant professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New

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