In a bold move that underscores the lasting political potency of the abortion debate, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and its affiliated PAC, Women Speak Out, announced Wednesday that they will invest $80 million into the 2026 election cycle to defend and expand pro-life majorities in Congress.
The massive investment — which will fund door-to-door canvassing, digital advertising, voter outreach mailers, and early voting mobilization — signals the group’s strategic pivot from courtroom battles to grassroots warfare. Their goal: energize pro-life voters and sway persuadable ones, especially in battleground states like Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina.
“Republicans simply cannot win without their pro-life base, especially in midterm elections when overall turnout drops,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America. “Pro-life voters are the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Our mission is to fire up pro-life Americans who do not consistently vote in midterms and convince persuadable voters to reject the Democrats’ extreme all-trimester abortion agenda.”
The group’s strategy is built on the same foundation that helped propel Donald Trump to victory in 2016, when he famously promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade — a pledge he fulfilled. That promise cemented Trump’s bond with pro-life activists and turned them into one of his most loyal voting blocs, especially in swing states.
The 2024 elections further showcased the muscle of SBA’s organizing. The group said it contacted 10 million voters across eight battleground states, and their early support helped carry Republicans like Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana over the finish line. Sheehy unseated longtime Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in a race Democrats once considered a firewall.
“SBA was there from the beginning,” Sheehy said. “They knocked over 100,000 doors in our state with 600,000 voters. That’s a massive amount. And the most important thing they did was shatter the narrative that we were somehow radicals because we wanted to protect the lives of unborn children.”
Their influence didn’t end on Election Day. In the months that followed, the Republican-led Congress — with Trump back in the White House — successfully defunded Planned Parenthood for one year, part of what the president dubbed his “Big, Beautiful Bill.” That legislative victory, though temporary, energized pro-life groups and inflamed tensions with abortion rights advocates, who have made clear they intend to fight back hard in 2026.
Indeed, Democrats have leaned heavily on abortion as a campaign issue since the overturning of Roe. From the 2022 midterms through Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential run, Democratic messaging has centered on codifying abortion access and eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass federal protections for abortion. It’s a strategy that’s delivered mixed results — mobilizing urban and suburban voters in blue-leaning districts while failing to sway more rural or religious constituencies.
The 2026 midterms are shaping up to be another showdown over abortion — not just in policy but in narrative. SBA Pro-Life America aims to recast the debate, painting Democratic proposals as “extreme” and “out of touch” with mainstream voters, while reaffirming Republican alignment with what they describe as a compassionate, pro-family stance.
