The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) recently released its agenda for this coming weekend. Pro-lifers will be heartened to learn that this year’s conference will include a panel devoted to sanctity-of-life issues. On Thursday at 4:30 p.m. a panel entitled “Babies-R-Us” will take place. Panelists will include Penny Nance, the president and CEO of Concerned Women for America; Brandi Swindell, the founder and CEO of Stanton Healthcare, and Abraham Enriquez, the founder and president of Bienvenido U.S.
Normally, the presence of a pro-life panel at one of the nation’s largest gatherings of political conservatives would not be particularly newsworthy. However, this marks the first time since 2021 that CPAC has hosted a panel devoted to abortion. In 2022, a tweet thread by pro-life activist Alison Centofante, complaining about the lack of pro-life panels, went viral. That year, CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp even called into a meeting of pro-life leaders to mend fences. Despite this, there was no panel dedicated to sanctity-of-life issues at CPAC in 2023.
CPAC should be commended. Pro-life issues are of interest to many CPAC attendees, and abortion will certainly be a salient issue in 2024. In addition to the presidential election, direct-democracy elections pertaining to abortion will be held in numerous states in 2024. Post-Dobbs, many states are still considering pro-life laws to protect unborn children, and in March, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case pertaining to the regulation of chemical abortions. Hopefully, Nance, Swindell, and Enriquez will have a lively discussion about pro-life strategies and inspire attendees to step up their efforts to protect the preborn.