Hope y’all didn’t stay up too late last night since we still don’t know who’s going to win the presidency. But there are some results in and conclusions we can draw from the 2020 elections.
- The states are energized to pass life-affirming laws in 2021. Of the eleven gubernatorial races, Republicans held seven and picked up Montana, bringing their total to 27 states. Montana Governor-elect Greg Gianforte recently signed onto AUL’s amicus brief in support of the FDA’s safety laws regulating the chemical abortion pill.
Several states, including Iowa, Kansas, and Kentucky, expanded pro-life majorities in the legislature, providing critical opportunities for constitutional amendments, ballot initiatives and veto overrides.
The Love Life Amendment, confirming that the Louisiana state constitution does not establish a “right to abortion” was approved by 62% of voters. This amendment keeps lawmaking power over abortion in its appropriate place, with the people’s elected representatives in the legislature.
- Senator McConnell’s gamble paid off. Though Republicans lost tough races in Colorado and Arizona, they picked up a seat in Alabama and held vulnerable seats in Iowa, Maine, Montana, and North Carolina. Senators McConnell and Graham, who led the successful efforts to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, won by double digits despite being massively outspent. At least two more years of a McConnell-led Senate is a bulwark against some of the most outrageous suggestions of the election season, including court packing, ending the filibuster, and removing Hyde Amendment protections to prevent taxpayer money being spent on abortions.
- The House Republican caucus gets more diverse—and more pro-life. At least 13 pro-life women and counting have been elected to the House, flipping Democrat seats or filling open ones. We can’t wait to support their efforts to pass life-affirming legislation in Congress. While Democrats are projected to retain control of the House, they’ll have to work with the Republican caucus.
It wasn’t all good news. We still don’t know what’s happening with the presidential race and may not have an answer for several days or weeks. The pizza boxes covering windows in Michigan isn’t a great sign.
Colorado voters rejected Prop 115, the ballot initiative limiting abortions to the first 22 weeks of pregnancy, meaning that Colorado remains one of the only jurisdictions in the United States (and the world!) to permit elective abortions without gestational limits. You can read more about both ballot initiatives here.
See y’all next week, when hopefully we have a president-elect.
