Exclusive: House Republicans Unveil Post-Roe Messaging Strategy

I n this term’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court is considering Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. With this case, the Court has its first chance in three decades to strike down or walk back its abortion jurisprudence, which for 50 years has made it nearly impossible to legally protect unborn children from abortion.

Anticipating a decision before the end of the term, House Republicans are gearing up for a messaging battle over abortion and the next phase of the pro-life movement. In a memo to members, a copy of which was obtained exclusively by National Review, the Republican Study Committee laid out GOP priorities for the pro-life movement. The memo emphasizes several key points and gives us a hint of where Republican messaging might go on this issue, both ahead of a ruling in Dobbs and thereafter.

“Our message is clear,” the memo states. “There is dignity and value in every human life from conception to natural death. We will celebrate every opportunity to protect life, share science-backed truth of the humanity of unborn babies, and support unborn babies, mothers, and families in our communities as we fight for a culture of life in the U.S.”

The memo notes that, if the Supreme Court restores the issue of abortion to the state legislative process, most Americans will be supportive of such a move: “By a 2 to 1 margin, Americans want abortion policy to be set by elected leaders, and not unelected judges. 71% of Americans support legal limits on abortion. Only 7% of Millennials share the position of the Democratic Party platform: abortion-on-demand, through all nine months, paid for by taxpayers.”

The memo also highlights how advances in science and technology since Roe v. Wade have enabled us to know more about life in the womb, strengthening the pro-life position, arguing that Roe was “based on outdated science.” Here’s more from the memo:

Through incredible advances in science families and medical professionals are now able to understand that at 15 weeks, the unborn baby can not only feel pain, but have a fully developed heart pumping 26 quarts of blood per day. At 15 weeks, we can see an unborn baby move their fingers and suck their thumb and see the unique features of their fully formed nose, lips, and eyelids. For babies diagnosed with conditions previously believed untreatable or terminal, doctors can now perform successful surgery on a 15-week unborn baby, bringing new hope and health to families.

The memo goes on to cite data suggesting that most Americans support laws far more protective of unborn children than currently permitted under Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

It also highlights the pro-life movement’s long list of successes in helping mothers and families choose life and reject abortion. “Americans across the country are already invested in supporting babies, mothers, and families and are committed to furthering a culture of life in our communities,” it states. The memo details the work of pregnancy-care centers, noting that in 2019 alone, nearly 3,000 such centers provided resources to about 1.9 million Americans so that they could choose life. It also informs members on existing state pro-life laws and abortion-alternative programs. And it underscores the importance of both “home and faith-based childcare options,” along with the fact that more employers now offer parental and family leave.

“American workers, families, communities, and employers also see the value of policies that support mothers and families in the earliest stages of their baby’s life,” the memo says. “When polled, parents’ top preferences for where babies and young children spend their day was at home or with a faith-based childcare provider.”

According to the memo, there has been “a 64 percent increase in the number of workers with access to employer-provided paid family leave over the past five years” and “29 percent of workers also have access to state-based programs providing paid family leave, with more states considering adding their own programs.”

Finally, the memo argues that Democrats are out of step with Americans on abortion. “Today’s Left believes in a position even more extreme than Roe: taxpayer-funded abortion, on demand, until birth.” It notes that 90 percent of countries protect unborn babies at 15 weeks’ gestation or earlier, and that the U.S. is “one of seven countries in the world that permit elective abortion past 20 weeks.”

The memo also highlights recent votes by congressional Democrats to remove the popular Hyde amendment from legislation, even though it has been added to spending bills for decades to prevent the direct federal funding of abortion through Medicaid reimbursements. It also responds to the common claim that the pro-life movement doesn’t support mothers, arguing instead that abortion supporters show little concern for the ways that abortion harms women.

“Even data from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute shows that the risk of a mother dying from an abortion rises exponentially (by more than 2,200%) between the 8th and 18th week of her pregnancy,” it states. “Pushes for increased use of chemical abortion and chemical abortion pills distributed by mail have put more pregnant mothers at serious medical risk. Data shows that ‘abortion-related emergency room visits following a chemical abortion increased over 500% from 2002 through 2015.’”

By contrast, the pro-life movement already operates “countless non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, community-based programs, and campus programs [that] support pregnant and parenting mothers and families,” services that will expand to meet the need if abortion is regulated in the future.

Though many congressional Republicans argue that after Roe, decisions about abortion law will rest with the states — and there’s plenty of truth to that — there’s room for pro-life lawmakers at the federal level to act, too. This memo suggests that the GOP is laying the groundwork so that members can make a coherent pro-life case, no matter what happens at the Court this term.