WASHINGTON — Republicans are prepping for a decision to be released in a major Supreme Court abortion case, gathering input from pro-life leaders as they plan for the possibility of a world without Roe v. Wade.
“We all remain hopeful that the Dobbs decision will come down soon and it will strike down Roe v. Wade,” Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, told members gathered Wednesday in the United States Capitol. “And when it does, we have to be prepared for it.”
Members of the Republican Study Committee gathered at a Wednesday luncheon and listened to remarks from Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who heads one of the leading pro-life organizations in the country.
Dannenfelser reminded the members that in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court is deciding whether pre-viability abortion limits are constitutional or not.
“The consensus among academics on our side, and frankly, among many of the most respectable on the other side, believe that Roe will be overturned,” she shared. “Daily, I get new communications that make me think that that is true.”
“If it’s a complete overturn of Roe, then the first people that I hope the media will go to are you, and certainly your constituents will be coming to you quickly on all sides,” she explained to the committee. “So preparation again is key.”
Dannenfelser described a “center-right message” that centers around four key points: that the unborn child feels pain, what actually will happen if Roe is overturned, contrasting the extreme positions of Democrats against Republican calls for consensus on abortion, and the “beautiful assets” at the state level serving women in need (pro-life groups and maternity shelters).
“This is not about money, who pays for it, the circumstances surrounding it, but who that child is,” Dannenfelser said, emphasizing that Republicans should focus on demonstrating “the humanity” of the child.
She also urged Republicans to pay attention to the pro-life resources in their states that can help pregnant mothers in need — resources that will be particularly needed when abortions are harder to come by.
“We do gap analysis to find out where, what’s missing and we’re working with states and state legislators to fill those gaps,” she said. “There’s no reason women and children can not get the help they need.”
“So those four things: the humanity, the restoration of democracy, making sure that we contrast extremism versus consensus, and the extent to which the pro-life movement loves, that’s the center of our movement, and that we are serving the needs of women and children,” she emphasized.
A Knights of Columbus poll conducted by Marist Poll found in January that not only do most Americans want to return the power to decide abortion restrictions to the states — most Americans support restrictions on abortion.
“As we await a decision in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, our polling continues to show that over 60% of Americans reject the central holding of Roe v. Wade, and want to return the decision to the states or make abortion illegal,” Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in a press release at the time.
Dannenfelser also drew on such polling, reminding Republicans that though Americans may say they support Roe v. Wade, when the monumental Supreme Court decision is broken down for them, they do not support what it entails.