The deal has received endorsements from several anti-abortion organizations, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life Action, and the National Association of Evangelicals. It also earned the endorsement of former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who included a vision of an expanded child tax credit as part of his 1994 “Contract with America,” a statement of conservative values that helped redefine the priorities of the modern Republican Party.
“Republicans have always gotten a bad rap that we’re pro-life before birth, but not pro-life after birth,” said Representative Kevin Hern, a Republican member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “This says that we are, and that we continue to be.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch opponent of abortion who has not revealed his position on the legislation, told reporters on Tuesday that he believes the pro-life organizations which support the deal “make a good point,” adding that “we want to do well by families.” But the expansion of the credit may not go far enough for some Republicans who believe that, in order for the credit to truly be a “pro-life” policy, it should be distributed before birth. But this is politically thorny for Democrats: Distributing the credits during pregnancy could be seen as a tacit endorsement of the right’s claim that life begins before birth.