One encouraging development for the pro-life movement is the significant increase in the number of pro-life laws being enacted at the state level. According to the Guttmacher Institute, between 1983 and 2010, the average number of pro-life state laws enacted annually was fewer than 15. Between 2011 and 2017, meanwhile, an average of 57 state-level pro-life laws were enacted each year, and between 2000 and 2019, the number of states that Guttmacher deemed “hostile” to abortion rights increased from four to 22.
The obvious reason for this increase is that Republicans have won majorities in state legislatures. In 1992, Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature in only seven states; now, they control both chambers of the state legislatures in 30 states. Over the course of the past 40 years, both political parties have become increasingly polarized on the issue of abortion. As a result, when state legislatures flip from Democratic control to Republican control, it is much easier for pro-lifers to enact protective legislation.
A recent study published in the Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy — entitled “Rewinding Roe: Understanding the Accelerated Adoption of State Level Restrictive Abortion Legislation 2008-2014” — highlights another important factor behind this recent surge in pro-life legislation. It found that states with a higher percentage of female lawmakers in the Republican legislative caucus enact a greater number of pro-life laws than other GOP-controlled legislatures.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael J. New
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