Although the abortion rights movement is often conflated with the Democratic Party, and abortion opponents are considered synonymous with Republicans, the reality is not so neat. For decades, it has been enough for Republican candidates to simply say they support conservative justices and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. With the federal right to an abortion in place, any other stance was moot: It didn’t matter as much if a politician supported, say, a six-week ban instead of a 12-week ban on the procedure, because neither would stand up in federal court. But in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Republican candidates must stake out a more specific stance on abortion access—and carefully choose language that will mollify their conservative base without repelling moderate Republicans and independents.
“The Dobbs decision created a new political situation for the Republican Party, in which Republican politicians had to think more seriously about their positions on abortion—and how they want to market those positions—than they did before,” said Daniel K. Williams, a historian who has written books about the Christian right and the anti-abortion movement pre-Roe.
The “pro-life” mission
However, members of the anti-abortion movement may not be so eager to discard “pro-life.” It is not simply a party platform but a philosophy. Indeed, one of the most powerful political organizations supporting abortion-restriction candidates, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, has been increasingly tetchy about Republicans shying away from a federal abortion ban. In April, the group condemned Trump for saying that the Supreme Court had returned the issue of abortion to states, and said that it would oppose any candidate who did not support a 15-week ban on the procedure. (Trump has still not endorsed such a federal law.)