Pro-life leaders invite GOP to discuss language surrounding abortion exceptions

Washington D.C., May 24, 2019 / 12:26 am (CNA).- Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that state pro-life laws should include exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life, a group of pro-life leaders invited the Republican party to discuss the way in which the pro-life message is discussed in America.

“The time has come for the Republican Party and pro-life advocates to reconsider the messaging that the abortion industry used and still uses to justify their deadly enterprise,” the letter read. “For too long the debate over protecting life left out children conceived in difficult circumstances, so it’s not surprising that opening up that discussion now reveals room to educate on protecting these children.”

On May 22, nearly 20 pro-life leaders released an open letter to Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee.

Signatories included Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America; Abby Johnson, founder of And Then There Were None; and Tom McClusky, president of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund.

Arguing that the Democratic Party is becoming more extreme in its support for abortion without limits, the group encouraged the GOP to continue strengthening its stance against abortion, and to reconsider its view on children conceived in incest or rape.

“With such a widening gulf between the parties, we are asking that the Republican Party continue their support of the abolition of abortion as it supported the abolition of slavery,” they said.

“As a society, we don’t issue birth certificates with points ranking some people as better than others based on their parents’ race, income, marital status or events on the night of conception. A birth certificate tells a simple truth: a unique life is in the world.”

The letter followed a series of tweets from President Trump, who suggested that state-level abortion bans should include certain exceptions.

“I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” the president said on Twitter May 18.

“We must stick together and Win for Life in 2020. If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear!”

Trump’s tweets come after Alabama recently passed a law to make abortion a felony. The law does not have exceptions for rape or incest, but it does make an exception in cases where a doctor believes there is a risk to a woman’s health. Similar legislation passed in Missouri last week, banning abortions after eight weeks. It is expected to be signed into law soon.

With states across the country seeing a surge in pro-life laws, the letter stressed that now is the time for the Supreme Court to reverse the 1973 decision of Roe v Wade. The pro-life leaders said polls indicate that younger generations favor at least some types of abortion bans.

“In January of this year, Students for Life of America commissioned a poll and found that 65 percent of Millennials want a voice and a vote on abortion policy. A recent Marist poll found that 80 percent of Americans would like abortion limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy, if not outright banned,” the letter read.

The signatories stressed that those who commit acts of sexual assault should be penalized with the full force of the law. However, it is not the child’s fault that they were conceived during rape, they said, added that the person in the womb should not be punished.

Topics of incest and rape are not easily discussed, they pro-life leaders acknowledged, but these children are born with value that can make a difference in the world. They encouraged the Trump administration to meet with pro-life leaders to better advocate for a pro-life America.

“There are no better witnesses to the value of all life, no matter how a child was conceived, than pro-life leaders today whose birth stories began in such moments. We hope you will meet with us to learn more on how we can collectively advocate for a pro-life America at this moment in time, as life is too precious a national resource to waste.”