The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America organization wants Republican 2024 candidates to pledge support for a national ban on abortions in return for its endorsement, Breitbart reported Wednesday.
"It's possible that we would endorse a candidate, but it's also possible that we won't. And we have a very bright line that hasn't changed, and you must communicate your federal minimum standards," Breitbart reported SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser saying on a Tuesday press call, adding that candidates must disclose how they would "rein in the extremes of California and Illinois and New York — abortion up to the end."
Dannenfelser said in the call that there is a fear candidates have about the issue because of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning 1973's Roe v. Wade decision making abortion legal nationwide.
"It does make sense that after 50 years of a status quo that disallowed the democratic process to determine what our law on abortion ought to be, that there be fits and starts. And it takes a little bit of time for consensus to become obvious," she said. "And it makes sense, even though we don't like it, that there's a lot of fear on the part of candidates ... now their actions are not theoretical in statement. They have practical and immediate application."
The high court sent the issue back to the individual states to decide in June 2022, which Democrats believe led to their better-than-expected showing in the midterm elections when many predicted a "red wave."
She said the GOP should now go on the offensive and ban the procedure, which is allowed "up to the moment of birth" in some blue states.
"Politics is about two things: that is, contrast and intensity of that contrast, where that contrast is clear," she said in the report. "When those two things are engaged or real, the pro-life position is going to win."
Since the 2022 ruling, Democrats have been pushing to codify Roe by passing the Women's Health Protection Act, which would establish a statutory "right" for health care professionals to provide abortions to patients regardless of medical necessity, the Center for Reproductive Rights reported in June.
According to the Center, abortions are currently illegal in 13 states.
"Without federal protections for abortion rights, states have already denied millions of people access to abortion care. More than 20% of the country's population currently resides in states where abortion is now illegal," the report said. "Large swaths of the South and Midwest are now abortion deserts — where those seeking care are forced to travel long distances to access services or carry pregnancies against their will."
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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