Anti-Abortion Groups Warn Lawmakers Against Criminalizing Having An Abortion

Topline

More than 70 anti-abortion rights groups called on state lawmakers Thursday to reject abortion bans that would make getting the procedure a felony, saying in an open letter such measures are “not pro-life,” as the anti-abortion movement tries to navigate what bans on the procedure should look like if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade as expected.

Pro- and anti-abortion rights demonstrators gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on December … [+] 01, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

The letter, addressed to “all state legislators in the United States of America,” directs lawmakers to “reject any measure” that would criminalize those who get abortions, calling them “antithetical” to the groups’ mission.

The organizations argued “women are victims of abortion” and should receive counseling and support after getting the procedure, due to the possibility of post-abortion trauma.

The anti-abortion rights groups still support criminalizing abortion providers performing the procedure, as many states intend to do if Roe is overturned.

National Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony List, March for Life Action and the National Association of Pro-Life Nurses were among those signing the list, along with anti-abortion groups based in many states set to ban abortion if Roe is overturned.

The letter was sent the same day as a Louisiana bill that would have made getting an abortion a homicide charge failed in the state House, after Republican lawmakers amended the bill to replace its language with a different ban that only punished abortion providers.

That amendment passed in a 65-26 vote, leading bill sponsor Rep. Danny McCormick (R) to shelve the legislation.

Big Number

12. That’s the number of states that have introduced bills similar to Louisiana’s that would criminalize getting the procedure, Foundation to Abolish Abortion President Bradley Pierce told the Washington Post Thursday. The Louisiana bill is the only one to have made it out of committee so far, according to Pierce, who helped draft that legislation.

Crucial Quote

“We understand better than anyone else the desire to punish the purveyors of abortion who act callously and without regard to the dignity of human life,” the letter reads. “But turning women who have abortions into criminals is not the way.”

Chief Critic

Some Republicans like McCormick are standing behind abortion bans that punish the person getting it despite other anti-abortion advocates’ disapproval. “This is a thorny political question, but we all know that it is actually very simple. Abortion is murder,” McCormick said during debate on the Louisiana bill Thursday, arguing Republicans trying to amend the bill were “faltering and trying to explain it away.”

Key Background

The Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks, as Politico leaked a draft opinion from February striking down the 1973 ruling and calling it “egregiously wrong.” The ruling is not yet final—the official opinion will likely be released in June—but Politico reported Wednesday a majority of justices are still in favor of striking Roe down. Should Roe fall, more than a dozen states are already poised to make performing an abortion a felony punishable by prison time, and abortion rights advocates have feared stronger bans that would criminalize getting the procedure, like the Louisiana bill, would be the next step for anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers.

Surprising Fact

Anti-abortion rights activists’ objection to harsh bans that would punish those having the procedure comes as many Republicans have been hesitant to openly celebrate the likely Supreme Court ruling, even as they’ve long opposed abortion rights and favored Roe being overturned. Republican senators have been largely focused on the controversy over the opinion leaking early more so than the contents of the ruling itself, the Post noted, and one GOP strategist told the outlet the question of how the Supreme Court will rule is something “that keeps us up at night.” Polling shows legal access to abortion is broadly popular with a majority of Americans—even as more are open to restricting the procedure later into a pregnancy—sparking speculation overturning Roe could hurt Republicans in the midterm elections if voters’ support for abortion rights drives them to the polls.