According to mainstream media, pro-life policies are political, tied up with money and political parties rather than any reflection of values that many Americans in both major political parties hold. But a closer look at state legislative records in a new CNN analysis seems to indicate otherwise.
According to the CNN report, which examined several pro-life measures passed by states in recent years, 140 Democratic lawmakers across eight states joined Republicans to support various pro-life initiatives. In 2019, for example, when Kentucky passed a trigger law to protect preborn babies in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned, 19 of the state’s Democratic lawmakers – representing 40% of all Democrats in the legislature – voted in favor of the measure. Also in 2019, four Arkansas Democrats in the state legislature voted in favor of a similar trigger law. A 2022 Louisiana bill that strengthened the state’s trigger law passed with the support of 12 Democratic lawmakers voting in favor. In a particularly striking example, more than 60 Democrats voted in favor of a 2007 Mississippi trigger law.
The report points to the reality that protecting the life of vulnerable human beings is fundamentally not a partisan position. Pro-lifers come in every iteration of humanity, every creed, every color, every political persuasion.
READ: These lawmakers have had their character questioned… just for being pro-life
Being pro-life is a recognition of the human dignity of every person, and especially the most vulnerable. This is a universal value that does not require a partisan ideology – no matter how often stated by the mainstream media or even prominent politicians.
Thus, it’s no surprise that the findings reflect polling data that consistently shows the majority of Americans support abortion restrictions. In a Marist poll released in January 2022, many Democrats (49%) support significant abortion restrictions, a fact borne out by the testimony of many of the lawmakers in CNN’s report.
When Democratic state legislators who had voted for pro-life measures were questioned about their reasoning, in most cases, they mentioned their personal convictions as motivating their pro-life political decisions.
In a post-Roe America where states have become key battlegrounds, the report has implications for the pro-life movement as a whole. The willingness of state legislators of both parties to come together in support of pro-life policies – something rarely seen in Congress on the federal level – suggests pro-life outreach to both parties in state legislatures can bear fruit in the pursuit of meaningful protections for preborn babies and vulnerable mothers.
Out of the glare of the national spotlight, pro-lifers can engage in fruitful conversations that resonate with values held by Americans of all political stripes.
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