Senator Vance describes Ohio abortion loss as a major setback for the ‘Pro-Life Movement’

Democrats have ridden the momentum of the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that ended a federal right to an abortion to some noted election victories. And Tuesday was no exception.

Voters in Ohio overwhelmingly approved Issue 1, a ballot measure that enshrines abortion rights into the state constitution, which U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said was a “gut punch” to the anti-abortion movement.

Voters in Michigan passed a similar ballot measure in 2022 and constitutional amendments to protect abortion rights are on the ballot for 2024 in Maryland and New York, and possibly in a dozen other states.

Vance, who said he campaigned to persuade voters to vote against the ballot measure, posted an essay on X on why anti-abortion activists should not give up but instead understand how they lost and what they need to turn things around.

“Giving up on the unborn is not an option,” Vance wrote. “It’s politically dumb and morally repugnant. Instead, we need to understand why we lost this battle so we can win the war.”

Vance said Ohio’s “heartbeat law” that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat was detected — usually around six weeks — was a big reason voters sided with the ballot measure, which won with 56.6% of the vote among more than 3.3 million cast.

“First, we got creamed among voters who disliked both Issue 1 and also Ohio’s current law [heartbeat bill],” Vance wrote. “We saw this consistently in polling and in conversations. ‘I don’t like Issue 1, but I’d rather have that extreme than the other extreme.’ This is a political fact, not my opinion.”

He also said anti-abortion activists must recognize how much voters mistrust elected Republicans on the issue.

“We need people to see us as the pro-life party, not just the anti-abortion party,” he wrote.

Vance supports former president Donald Trump’s position that “you’ve got to have the exceptions” with abortion, such as for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. He added Republicans have spent so much time winning legal arguments on abortion that they have fallen behind “on the moral argument.”

“You can criticize the propaganda effort on the other side for lying to people about these issues or confusing the populace, but it suggests we have to do a much better job of persuasion,” Vance wrote. “And I’m not just talking about 30-second TV commercials — I’m talking about sustained, yearslong efforts to show the heart of the pro-life movement.”

In the grander scheme of things, Vance said “we got outspent big time” on Issue 1 and across the country.

“Republicans are almost always outspent by Democrats,” he wrote. “Relatedly, Democrats are better at turning out in off-year elections. The national party should be focused on two, and only two issues: How to juice turnout in off-year elections and how to close the finance gap with Democrats.

“… A lot of people are celebrating right now, and I don’t care about that. I do care about the fact that because we lost, many innocent children will never have a chance to live their dreams. There is something sociopathic about a political movement that tells young women [and men] that it is liberating to murder their own children. So, let’s keep fighting for our country’s children, and let’s find a way to win.”