Most everyone knows that Election Day was a very good day for the protection of human life. While there are still a few races yet undecided, our current count at Americans United for Life shows a pick-up of 52 pro-life seats in the US House of Representatives. Incoming Speaker John Boehner told AUL president Charmaine Yoest that he wants to be “the most pro-life Speaker ever.” We look forward to helping him fulfill that desire.
Unfortunately, it still will be a challenge to enact federal pro-life legislation while President Obama occupies the White House and Harry Reid and Dick Durbin command the Senate. While Harry Reid has pretended at times over the years to be pro-life, he has allowed Dick Durbin, second-in-command in the Senate, to kill bills like the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act which would prevent people from taking someone else’s minor daughter across state lines to avoid her home state’s parental notification or consent laws. However, given the election results this year and the large number of Democrats up for re-election in the Senate in 2012, I expect the House to send several good pro-life bills over to the Senate this year. We should dare the Senate to defy the majority of the American people who want more protections for vulnerable human life, not less.
But this isn’t the biggest story of November 2. No, the real story is the huge sea change that happened in states across the country.
Of the 37 races for governor this year, we saw 19 pro-life governors elected to office, 12 of which were previously held by pro-abortion governors. Even more exciting, there are now twice as many pro-life women as pro-abortion women in the top seat with all four pro-life women candidates winning their races. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer cruised to re-election victory winning by 13 points. Susana Martinez in New Mexico won decisively by eight points and is the nation’s first female Hispanic governor. Congresswoman Mary Fallin soundly defeated Jari Askins by 20 points. And South Carolina elected the nation’s first female Indian governor by electing Nikki Haley by a four point margin. The only two pro-abortion women governors remain – Bev Purdue in North Carolina and Christine Gregoire in Washington state.
Additionally, we saw a massive switch in control of state legislatures. Republicans took control of at least 19 state legislative chambers (the New York Senate and Oregon Senate are still undecided), a result that will open up the opportunity for pro-life legislation in states where the previous leadership had blocked pro-life bills from coming up for a vote. My favorite example is Alabama, where the House majority leader lost re-election to a UPS driver by a shocking 38 points. This is the first time the Alabama legislature has switched hands since Reconstruction – 136 years ago. We fully expect states such as Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to pass a slew of new pro-life laws next year.
And if that wasn’t enough, next year is redistricting – where states redraw the lines for both the US Congress and state legislative seats based upon the 2010 census. With so many pro-life leaders now in the driver’s seat in states across the country, I expect we will see a dramatic impact on pro-life legislative opportunities for years to come.