By Karen Cross, National Right to Life Political Director
Editor’s note. This appeared in the March edition of National Right to Life News. Please share this and all the other up to the minute news with your pro-life family and friends.
On February 28, 2022, Senate Democrats voted in favor of one of the most extreme pro-abortion bills to ever come before the U.S. Senate. The so-called “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which could be more accurately called the “No-Limits-on-Abortion-until-Birth Act,”would have enshrined abortion in federal law and policies, and it would overridden nearly all existing state laws.
The motion to advance the bill failed (by a vote of 46-48), but it shined a light on how out of touch Senate Democrat are with the American public on the issue of abortion. It also opens a door for pro-life Senate candidates in 2022 to illustrate to voters the clear contrast between their position in favor of protections for the unborn and that of their opponents who have now in no uncertain terms endorsed abortion on demand, for any reason, until birth.
Several Senate Democrats in competitive reelection fights later this year are now on the record in support of this extreme pro-abortion bill. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) voted in favor of the legislation. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) was out of town for the vote but had signed on as a cosponsor.
Democrat incumbents are not the only ones taking a stand for abortion on demand without limits. Democrat candidates running for open seats and those challenging Republican incumbents also signaled their supportfor the radical proposal.
In the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which has an open Senate seat up for grabs in 2022, Democrat Senate hopefuls made no mystery of where they stand. Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has repeatedly tweeted his support for the bill. Congressman Conor Lamb voted to advance the House version of the bill. State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta introduced a state-level version of the bill in the Pennsylvania House. It would establish a fundamental “right to abortion” and override existing state pro-life protections including parental involvement for minor girls, informed consent, a waiting period, a ban on sex-selective abortions, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion, and more. Dr. Val Arkoosh, who is endorsed by pro-abortion fundraising giant EMILY’s List, has made the radical legislationthe centerpiece of her entire campaign.
In Ohio, which also has an open Senate seat in 2022, Congressman Tim Ryan, the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, voted for the House version of the bill. Similarly, Congresswoman Val Demings, the leading Democratic candidate hoping to take on pro-life Senator Marco Rubio in Florida’s Senate race, also voted in favor of the bill.
In North Carolina, the all-but-assured Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley has called for passage of the bill in public statementson her website and on social media. She lamented that the Senate was unable to advance the bill, tweeting “Enough is enough” and encouraged supporters to donate to her campaign.
In Wisconsin, pro-life Senator Ron Johnson, who many political observers believe to be the Senate’s most vulnerable Republican incumbent in 2022, is facing a challenge from several pro-abortion Democrats. The two leading candidates for the Democratic nomination are State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. Godlewski, who received an early endorsement from EMILY’s List, urged urgent passage of the bill. She even called on the Senate to eliminate the filibuster in order to do so. Barnes tweeted his support for the bill, claiming “the stakes have never been higher” and that abortion without limits is one of the reasons “we need Democrats in Congress.”
A January 2021 Marist poll found 86 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Independents, and even 45 percent of Democrats support commonsense limits on abortion. Conversely, only 11 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of Independents, and 51 percent of Democrats support abortion without any restrictions.
The vote on the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act has exposed the stranglehold that the abortion industry has over the Democratic Party. “This legislation shows just how rigid and uncompromising the Democratic Party has become on abortion,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias following the vote.
In 2022, voters should not overlook the pro-abortion extremism advocated by Senate Democrats and their party’s Senate hopefuls. Instead, they should hold them accountable.