Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of the women’s group, the Susan B. Anthony List, suggested that the pro-life political agenda might be at “a tipping point” allowing legislative gains, but added that grassroots activists must not be too trusting of pro-life leaders.
“It’s always ‘trust, but verify,’ Dannenfelser said of her group’s relationship with House Republican leadership. She allowed that there is a “cordial” working relationship between the activists and the legislators, but recalled that pro-lifers had to work “too hard” to have a pro-life position included in the 2010 Pledge to America platform, given the lawmakers’ pro-life rhetoric. She also expressed disappointment that House Republicans “flinched” on defunding Planned Parenthood earlier in the year.
Dannenfelser saw a silver lining for her group even in that defeat, telling The Washington Examiner that the effort to defund Planned Parenthood at the federal level had “started a wave” of defunding efforts at the state level.
She also touted the Republican support for pro-life positions, affirming the successes noted in her “State of the Unborn” address, planned as a counter to President Obama’s State of the Union speech. “All candidates in the Republican primary field have reacted against the most committed ideologically pro-abortion President in history by united in support of three pro-life policies,” Dannenfelser says, citing their criteria for Supreme Court appointees, along with their commitment to defunding Planned Parenthood and passing a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
