No wonder abortions are at historic lows and 73 abortion facilities closed last year alone. These huge pro-life victories have come about in part because states have approved 231 pro-life laws to stop abortions since 2010.
While some skeptics wonder whether electing pro-life candidates makes a difference, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute is bemoaning the fact that, in the last four years, mostly Republican lawmakers in states across the country have passed a record number of pro-life laws.
Here’s some excerpts from a report the pro-abortion group, formerly affiliated with the Planned Parenthood abortion business, issued today:
During the 2014 state legislative session, lawmakers introduced 335 provisions aimed at restricting access to abortion. By the end of the year, 15 states had enacted 26 new abortion restrictions. Including these new provisions, states have adopted 231 new abortion restrictions since the 2010 midterm elections swept abortion opponents into power in state capitals across the country.
Bucking this tide, legislators in 17 states introduced 95 measures designed to expand access to abortion, more positive measures than in any year since 1990. Of these, four were signed into law: two provisions established buffer zones around abortion providers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire; the third repealed the pre-Roe abortion ban in Vermont; and the fourth eased counseling requirements for women seeking an abortion because of a fetal impairment in Utah.
In 2000, 13 states had four or five types of abortion restrictions in effect and so were considered hostile to abortion rights. In that year, no state had more than five types of abortion restrictions in effect. By 2010, 22 states were considered hostile to abortion rights; five of these had six or more restrictions, enough to be considered extremely hostile to abortion rights. By 2014, 27 states had enough restrictions to be considered hostile; 18 of these can now be considered extremely hostile. The entire South is now considered hostile to abortion rights, and much of the South, along with much of the Midwest, is extremely hostile to abortion rights.
Nonetheless, the midterm election results provide good reason to be concerned about a renewed focus on restricting abortion in the upcoming 2015 legislative sessions. Republican legislators, who overwhelmingly oppose abortion rights, solidified their dominance in the states. Republicans will now control both legislative chambers in 30 states, three more than in 2014; in 23 of those states, the governor will also be Republican. Democrats will control both legislative chambers and the governor’s mansion in only seven states. In addition, the ballot initiative approved in Tennessee likely will open the door to additional restrictions in that state.
The conclusion? Electing pro-life candidates results in passing pro-life laws. Passing pro-life laws closes abortion businesses. Closing abortion centers saves babies from abortion.
