Planned Parenthood Action Fund Responds to Senate Republicans “Pro-Baby” Spin

Washington, D.C. — NBC reported on Senate Republicans’ goal to shift towards “pro-baby” messaging to describe their anti-abortion agenda after a closed-door meeting with Republican strategists. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called them out for the new misleading, ironic label: 

“Words mean things,” said McGill Johnson. “You can’t be ‘pro-baby’ and only offer thoughts and prayers when our babies aren’t safe at school because of gun violence. You can’t be ‘pro-baby’ while actively cutting funding for critical programs that help children and families. No matter how much they try to rebrand, it will not change the fact that banning abortion is unpopular and unsupported by the majority of the public. Strategists can spin their wheels and talk in circles, but the impact of their dangerous policies is straightforward: Their agenda is putting lives, families, and futures at risk.” 

The blatant attempt to mislead the general public is laced in hypocrisy: 

• Congressional Republicans have a long history of neglecting programs that help children and families, such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 
• Mostly recently, House Republicans passed drastic cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), cutting access to fruits and vegetables for more than 5 million participants.
• In January, Congressional Republicans refused to extend the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as a means of reducing poverty and hunger for children. Under the temporary CTC, U.S. child poverty rate fell 46% and lifted nearly 4 million children out of poverty, also reducing the number of households that reported not having enough food. 
• Senate Republicans refuse to pass gun safety regulations despite CDC data indicating that gun violence is the number one cause of child deaths in the country. 
• Republican legislatures across the country are furious about children getting life-saving free meals at school and made banning these programs a 2024 priority. 
• At the national and state level, Republicans are working to stop transgender kids from participating in sports or accessing health care. 
• Anti-abortion policies hurt the economic wellbeing of babies and families. Children born later to women who are able to get an abortion experience more economic security and better maternal bonding than the children born because a woman was denied an abortion.

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education