Governors address pro-life priorities

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 13th of February, 2024. This is WORLD Radio and we’re so happy to have you along with us today. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

First up on The World and Everything in It: state governors on pro-life matters.

WORLD’s Leah Savas reviewed the governors’ 2024 state of the state addresses. She has this report about what they say about pro-life issues.

LEAH SAVAS: Since early January, lawmakers across the country have gathered in state capitols to hear this year’s state of the state addresses. In these speeches, governors tout legislative wins, and signal priorities for the year ahead.

KELSEY PRITCHARD: Generally people aren’t sitting around and listening to those unless you're a lobbyist, unless you work in state government, unless you have a stake.

That’s Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for the organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. She and her colleagues have been keeping tabs on how governors are addressing the life issue in their speeches.

PRITCHARD: I think it makes clear what bills they may be bringing, their office may be introducing or working with legislators to introduce and signaling to them the kind of policy they want to see get to their desk and the thing that they’ll be using their platform to push for…

Some are using their platforms to promote an agenda of unregulated abortion. Four Democrat governors that caught Pritchard's attention used their speeches to set bold pro-abortion goals for their states.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers:

GOV. TONY EVERS: I will veto any bill that takes away your reproductive freedom or makes reproductive healthcare any less [accessible] than it is today.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy:

GOV. PHIL MURPHY: I am calling again, with respect, on our Legislature to pass a bill to scrap out-of-pocket costs for abortion procedures

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs:

GOV. KATIE HOBBS: And we should stop government overreach that invades women’s privacy by collecting and publishing data on every abortion in Arizona.

And Washington Gov. Jay Inslee:

GOV. JAY INSLEE: We need to enshrine reproductive freedom in our constitution and pass a constitutional amendment protecting the right of choice this year…

Pritchard says these priorities are out of touch with the American people.

PRITCHARD: Because if you're talking about no protection—not even a 14-week protection is okay—you're saying taxpayers should completely fund abortion, you should get rid of abortion reporting, and we should have in our constitution a right to unlimited abortion—that shows where the Democrat Party is at.

Pritchard contrasts these speeches with four key pro-life addresses from Republican governors in South Dakota, Iowa, Alabama, and Nebraska.

GOV. NOEM: Later this week, I will proclaim that 2024 will be the “Freedom for Life Year” in South Dakota.

That’s Gov. Kristi Noem. She and other pro-life governors focused on what Pritchard calls a pro-life safety net: practical support for pregnant and new moms and their babies.

GOV. NOEM: We are offering the Bright Start program, and it’s to get one-on-one nursing services to first-time moms and to their babies from pregnancy until the child’s second birthday.

In neighboring Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds [wren-olds] set a goal of improving postpartum Medicaid coverage.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS: Today, Medicaid covers postpartum care for two months after birth. I am proposing to extend that coverage to 12 months, for new moms who make less than $42,000 a year. Let’s do more to help moms, babies, and their families get off to a good start.

Gov. Kay Ivey in Alabama last week called on her state to foster a culture of life.

GOV. KAY IVEY: I am proud to support a pilot program that will start hosting checkups for pregnant women at nine county health departments in the areas of need.

And in January, Nebraska’s Gov. Jim Pillen also highlighted practical help for pregnant moms.

GOV. JIM PILLEN: We will continue to embrace life here in Nebraska with the launch of a yearlong “Culture of Life [and Love] Initiative.” It will provide resources to expecting moms, especially those in crisis who need support more than ever.

South Dakota and Alabama have protections for unborn babies starting at conception. But Iowa and Nebraska do not. Iowa’s heartbeat bill is currently on hold in court. And in Nebraska, lawmakers settled for protections after 12 weeks of pregnancy last year when attempts to pass a heartbeat bill failed. But Reynolds and Pillen did not call on lawmakers to take the next step and protect babies at conception.

Pritchard boils it down to the makeup of key state legislatures, which hasn’t changed since the latest attempts to enact stronger protections.

PRITCHARD: So yeah, bills could exist, but I don't think unfortunately, we're going to see much movement in the states on that front this year.

For now, these states are zeroing in on how to provide practical support to moms in need… to hopefully remove the reasons why a woman might get an abortion.

PRITCHARD: It really shows the compassion side of the pro-life movement, and how much of a focus that is and is going to be in 2024. It includes protecting the baby and it also includes helping the mother and helping the parents.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leah Savas.

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