Presidential Candidates Pledge to Advance Pro-life Issues In Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2011
Contact: Ciara Matthews, (702) 339-3104

2012 Hopefuls Sign Pro-Life Leadership Presidential Pledge

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) today announced the Republican candidates for President who have signed its Pro-Life Leadership Presidential Pledge, committing them to actively advance pro-life policies and legislation if they are elected to the White House.  Signers of the pledge include Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.  Marilyn Musgrave, former Congresswoman and Project Director for SBA List, made the announcement at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this afternoon. SBA List is also calling on pro-life activists to put pressure on those candidates who have refused to sign, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, and Gary Johnson, to sign the pledge.

“We applaud those candidates who did sign the pledge for vowing to support and advance the protection of life at all stages if elected to the White House,” said Musgrave.  “Their signatures demonstrate that mere lip-service to protecting women and the unborn is not enough—it must be backed up by concrete action.”

According to the pledge, available here, if elected President, candidates will:

  • Only nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;
  • Select pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Department of Justice;
  • Advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions; 
  • Advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.

“The conviction and resolve of these candidates answers grassroots hunger for authentic leadership.  Any ‘truce’ on social issues is not viable, nor is it acceptable to the grassroots,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.  “As one of the most activist presidents on abortion in history, President Obama protects political allies like Planned Parenthood and continually appoints activist federal judges. The situation demands a strong leader who will advance consensus life-affirming legislation and policy at all levels.”

The Susan B. Anthony List spent $11 million during the 2010 midterm election cycle. Overall, the SBA List was involved in 90 races including 62 wins and 28 losses. Successes included: defeating 15 of 20 so-called “pro-life” Democrats who voted for abortion funding in the health care reform bill; increasing the number of pro-life women in the House by 70 percent; filling the void of pro-life women in the U.S. Senate and increasing the number of pro-life women governors from one to four.

 

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