Republican strategists are seeking a rebrand on the subject of abortion.
After recent electoral losses, which some analysts blamed on the backlash against Republicans’ position on abortion, strategists are looking for a term besides “pro-life” to describe their position, fearing the label has formed a negative connotation, NBC News reported. The head of a super PAC close to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans that polling shows a negative connotation and the party must relabel itself to remove the stigma.
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“What intrigued me the most about the results was that ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ mean something different now, that people see being pro-life as being against all abortions … at all levels,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said.
Former McConnell aide Steven Law’s presentation encouraged Republicans to be as specific as possible when talking about abortion rather than reverting to the label of “pro-life,” according to several senators at the meeting. No alternative was given in the presentation for a simple label, but some had ideas.
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) offered the label of “pro-baby” but clarified it was his own creation and not introduced in the meeting. The label “was just a term of my creation to demonstrate my concern for babies,” he said.
Law’s presentation appeared to be received positively, with some senators saying Republicans need to heed the advice and concentrate more on articulating their exact position.
“People require more in-depth discussions. You can’t get away with a label anymore,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said. “What we’ve learned is you have to dive in and talk to people about very specifically where you are on that subject if you’re running for public office.”
“Many voters think [‘pro-life’] means you’re for no exceptions in favor of abortion ever, ever, and ‘pro-choice’ now can mean any number of things,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said. “So the conversation was mostly oriented around how voters think of those labels, that they’ve shifted. So if you’re going to talk about the issue, you need to be specific.”
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Abortion advocates blamed Republicans’ position on abortion rather than the messaging.
“I think their messaging was not the problem. Their position is the problem, and they’re going to be stuck with those positions,” said Christina Reynolds, the spokeswoman for Emily’s List, a pro-abortion access group. “At the end of the day, voters are clear in poll after poll and in election results after election results that they believe that people should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions, that they support abortion rights, that they supported Roe v. Wade.”
