Pro-life leaders: GOP is 'on probation'

Penny Nance

Moral decline was surpassed only by economic concerns in importance for voters in last week's election, according to a voter survey by Concerned Women for America.

Encouraged by a large turnout by social conservative voters, pro-life activists are demanding immediate returns from the massive GOP electoral victories in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A separate poll conducted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition found that evangelical Christians formed "the largest single constituency in the electorate in the 2010 midterm elections."

Evangelicals represented 29 percent of the vote in the 2010 midterm election, nearly a third of the total, and they broke nearly 4:1 for the Republicans. Another 12 percent of voters were religious Catholics, who voted 3:2 for Republicans.

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While news coverage of the decisive Tea Party movement focused on its anti-tax and anti-spending positions, the FFC survey revealed that "52 percent of all self-identified members of the Tea Party movement are conservative evangelicals."

"Abortion is often said to be a losing issue, but it proved to be just the opposite in this election," CWA president Penny Nance told WND. "A CWA poll of people who voted on November 2 found that 62 percent of respondents indicated that moral decline and moral values were major issues for them, second only to economic issues. National security came in behind moral issues, even with all the incidents that have occurred recently."

Pro-life activists expect Republicans to be much more assertive in the legislative battle against abortion.

"Pro-lifers now have the majority in the House," said Jill Stanek, a prominent prolife columnist and blogger. "I’m optimistic the Republican leadership got the message they're on a two-year probation and they're going to do as much as they can to help the preborn."

"I think that's true," said Nance. "The Republicans were given the majority again on a wait-and-see basis. They shouldn't misunderstand that the vote was for their party. It was for specific principles and against the monstrously unpopular Obama initiatives like health care, with its pro-abortion provisions, and the bailouts. If the Republicans want to be successful they have to address the issues that gave Boehner the gavel.

"We will be there to hold them accountable."

Former Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, now a director with the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, noted that her organization succeeded in both electing pro-life women to Congress and removing pro-abortion women.

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"We helped elect eight new prolife women, and our expectation is they will show a great deal of courage on this issue," Musgrave told WND.

By Stanek's reckoning pro-lifers gained at least 53 seats in the House, and only 151 abortion proponents remain out of 435 members. "77 of 93 members of the freshman class will be committed pro-lifers," said Stanek. "The entire House leadership are active pro-lfers really committed to the life issue. I have high hopes."

SBA List, CWA and the Family Research Council plan to back bills introduced by N.J. Representative Chris Smith to ban federal spending for abortions, and Ind. Representative Mike Pence to strip funding from abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood.

FRC vice president Tom McClusky warned that with the Senate and White House still in Democratic hands, pro-lifers may not make much legislative progress right away.

"Gridlock is not such a bad thing in Washington, DC, McClusky told WND. "The Republicans have the chance now to contrast their agenda with the Democrats."

McClusky said FRC plans to hold the GOP "accountable" for pressing ahead on social issues, and also for whom it chooses to chair House committees.

McClusky said FRC has no plans to retaliate against Republican legislators if they fail to follow through on life issues.

"Republicans should worry more about what voters will do than what FRC will do," McClusky told WND. But he added, "We have no problem challenging Republicans in primaries if they're wrong on our issues. The last thing they want is primary challenges if they ignore the social or fiscal issues."