A leading anti-abortion group is advising Republicans to highlight the Democratic Party’s embrace of abortion rights during the Democratic National Convention last week, arguing the spectacle could be used as leverage for the GOP on the thorny issue during the election.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America sent a memo to Republican political leaders on Friday highlighting “the DNC’s abortion-palooza” in Chicago last week, during which Planned Parenthood Federation of America offered free abortions and vasectomies on the grounds of the convention.
“Nearly every speech, media interview, and march was used as an opportunity to underscore their support for abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, which is grossly out of line with the majority of Americans who support commonsense limits on abortion,” the memo reads.
The text highlights how the “safe, legal, and rare” tagline that the Democratic Party used in years past has been replaced “with brazen support for taking unborn human life at any stage for any reason.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), have made abortion the cornerstone of their campaign, with abortion rights arguably being their clearest policy position.
Both Harris and Walz have long track records in support of abortion access, including each co-sponsoring the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have removed gestational age limits for abortion in all 50 states.
Despite the push from conservative advocates, Republicans under the leadership of former President Donald Trump have shifted away from the party’s traditional anti-abortion base.
In July, the majority of the anti-abortion language from the 2016 Republican platform was stripped from the 2024 version, with only passing reference to the rights of states to protect unborn life under the federal 14th Amendment.
Anti-abortion advocates have voiced strong frustration with Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who has based much of his public career on his social conservative credentials.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday that his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” which anti-abortion advocates have long criticized as a euphemism for abortion.
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SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser posted on X on Monday that the anti-abortion movement is “way bigger and younger than Donald Trump,” suggesting that the former president does not represent the future of anti-abortion advocacy.
“Nothing will deter this movement because it is about saving lives and truly serving women,” Dannenfelser wrote. “The short term urgent threat? Hariz-Walz and all Senate candidates promising unlimited 6, 7, 8, 9 month abortion as the only option for women.”