The Anti-Abortion Movement Is Splintering
“The most effective arenas for abortion abolitionists are at the state level; in at least 17 states, they have worked with lawmakers to introduce bills that would treat abortion as homicide, according to the extremism watchdog group Political Research Associates. In 2023, the Colorado Times Recorder reported that abolitionist groups were urging supporters to run for local office. ‘You need one of them to carry this [abortion abolition resolution] because they’ve got to introduce it, or you can run for that and become part of your County Republican executive committee,’ the Foundation to Abolish Abortion’s Pierce said at a 2023 rally in Kansas. Later that year, former Colorado state Rep. Dave Williams, who sponsored an abortion abolition bill, ran for and won the role of Colorado Republican Party chair. Other prominent abolitionist legislators include state Sen. Dusty Deevers (R-Okla.), Rep. David Eastman (R-Alaska), and Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R-Ga). In 2024, the Republican Party of Texas listed ‘abolish abortion in Texas’ as one of its legislative priorities. Some states have moved to resurrect ‘zombie laws’ that criminalize abortion; the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is in the process of deliberating over one such law from 1849.”