For nearly a decade, pro-life voters have been the Republican Party’s most dependable force. We show up early, stay late, and keep the faith. We are not fair-weather voters, and we are not driven by trends. We are driven by a conviction that protecting babies in the womb is a moral minimum, and that the Republican Party understands this. We’ve held tight to the knowledge that the protection of unborn life is part of the GOP’s DNA.

But when our president tells GOP lawmakers to be “flexible” on taxpayer funding of abortion to kowtow to Democrats, concern becomes unavoidable. And when a Trump-aligned consultant dismisses pro-life voters as “a cheap date,” it confirms what many of us have heard: that parts of the Republican establishment, especially its consultant class, believe its most loyal voter base is disposable. Why else would the GOP’s top leader push to scrap one of the most fundamental pro-life policies, the Hyde Amendment? An amendment that has had bipartisan support until recently since 1973.

Republicans are signaling that nothing is off the table. That’s not pragmatism. It is a betrayal and political malpractice.

The Hyde Amendment is not some obscure legislative relic. Over its 50-year existence, Hyde has saved an estimated 2.6 million lives by ensuring that Americans are not forced to pay for abortions with their tax dollars. It has long functioned as the bedrock pro-life standard in federal policy — the clear line separating a government that tolerates abortion from one that actively funds it.

For decades, Hyde has also been a minimum requirement for Republican credibility. You could debate strategy or messaging — but you did not cave on Hyde.

Democrats understood Hyde’s power, which is why they worked so hard to undermine it. When Obamacare was drafted in 2010, it was deliberately designed to sidestep Hyde through an accounting gimmick that still forces taxpayers to subsidize elective abortions. Voters noticed. Fifteen House Democrats who supported that scheme lost their seats, and Republicans made major gains in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The lesson was clear: voters do not like being tricked into funding abortion.

Now, astonishingly, some Republicans appear ready to repeat the Democrats’ mistake — this time against their own base.

Trump’s suggestion that Republicans be “flexible” on Hyde represents a sharp departure from his prior commitments. He repeatedly pledged to make Hyde permanent law, including in health care coverage. One of his first actions upon taking office last year was prioritizing the reversal of President Biden’s Hyde violations. And he stated unequivocally, “it is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

That clarity mattered. It reassured pro-life voters that their support was not being taken for granted.

Republicans already struggle with turnout in midterms. Democrats show up. Republican voters often do not. And pro-life voters are value-driven, and when they feel demoralized or betrayed, they do not defect — they stay home. The GOP already has an intensity gap. Why slap your most loyal base in the face? If just 1–2 percent of pro-life voters had stayed home in 2024, Donald Trump would not be president. That is not a theory. That is math.

For the 2026 election cycle, we will contact 10.5 million voters across four key Senate battleground states and up to a dozen key House battlegrounds across the country, including 4.5 million visits to voters directly at their doorstep.

Abandoning Hyde now will shatter the trust of these voters. And the electoral consequences could be immediate.

Polling reinforces the danger. Data from PRRI shows that the voters who care most intensely about abortion are pro-life, not pro-choice. And the broader electorate is not clamoring for taxpayer-funded abortion. According to recent polling, six in ten Americans oppose forcing taxpayers to pay for it. The idea that defending Hyde alienates voters is a fiction sustained by consultants who confuse elite opinion with public reality. As a recent Newsweek article reminded, the Hyde Amendment “is polling better than anyone in Congressional leadership.”

You cannot expect enthusiasm while undermining the issue that animates your base. You cannot insult pro-lifers as a “cheap date” and expect them to mobilize on command. And you cannot abandon the single most important pro-life policy in federal law without paying a price.

The blowback would be far worse than what Democrats experienced in 2010. Then, voters punished a party that tried to evade Hyde. Now, they would punish a party that promised to defend it and then walk away.

Republicans still have a choice. President Trump and congressional leaders can reaffirm Hyde as non-negotiable and follow through on the commitments they made. Or they can learn the hard way that even the most loyal voters will not turn out for a party that no longer turns out for them.

Pro-lifers are not a “cheap date.” We are the backbone of the Republican coalition. We are the beating heart of this party. Ignore that reality, and the GOP will surely lose the midterms — not because we moved Left but because we stayed home.

* * *

Kelsey Pritchard is Communications Director at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Pro-Lifers Are Not A ‘Cheap Date.’ We’re The GOP’s Margin Of Victory.