The $30 million toe in the water

Abortion abolitionists, who seek to criminalize abortion without exceptions and punish women who obtain abortions as murderers, are gaining influnece in legislatures, Republican Party politics and the broader antiabortion movement. their ideology is centered on the belief that fetuses are entitled to the equal protection of the law from the moment of fertilization, and that abortion should be treated as murder in all circumstances.

This conviction has given rise to so-called equal protection bills, personhood-style measures that seek the criminalization of abortion as murder. The movement has already produced results, with several states considering so-called equal protection legislation.

Abortion abolitionists' roots in Christian patriarchy

Abortion abolitionists, who have long been considered the outer fringe of the antiabortion movement, have their roots in what a new generation of mostly white, male, conservative Baptists, Presbyterians and Christian Reconstructionists call extreme Christian patriarchy. Recent research has likewise found that the strongest supporters of arresting women who have abortions are Americans who endorse Christian nationalism.

The South Carolina bill,which makes the pregnant woman herself subject to misdemeanor liability, prompted a revisit of the question of whether abortion abolitionists have made more inroads into the mainstream antiabortion movement.

Abortion abolitionists reject incremental approach

Abortion abolitionists reject the incremental approach favored by what is commonly called the mainstream pro-life movement. While many antiabortion organizations argue that laws protecting fetuses , whom they often portray as victims of abortion providers,abolitionists insist that abortion should be treated as murder in all circumstances, and that those who obtain abortions should face the same criminal penalties as any other person accused of homicide.

Central to their ideology is the belief that fetuses are entitled to the equal protection of the law from the moment of fertilization. This conviction has given rise to so-called equal protection bills, personhood-style measures that seek the criminalization of abortion as murder.

Abolitionists' problematic name justified by analogy to slavery

Abolitionists justify their movement's problematic name by arguing that there is a valid historical analogy between enslaved people and fetuses. As Rick Clayborn writes, just as enslaved people could be harmed or killed by their owners without legal consequences, unborn children may be poisoned, dismembered and killed by their owners/mothers without fear of criminal prosecution.

However, critics argue that the slavery analogy only makes sense if one believes having an abortion is somehow equivalent to owning a human being. In fact, they argue that the comparison points in the opposite direction: slavery is about losing one's freedom and personal autonomy over one's body and life.

Abolitionists' grassroots strategy gains traction

The antiabortion movement crossed a major new red line when South Carolina's Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted to send S. 1095 to the full Senate chamber for consideration. although the legislative session ended before the bill could be taken up by the chamber, the vote marked an unprecedented step toward legislation that would criminalize women who obtain abortions.

Yet the development should not have come as a surprise: according to the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, support for so-called equal protection legislation has reached a new high. FAA president Bradley Pierce has encouraged supporters to pursue a precinct-level organizing model aimed at influencing local Republican lawmakers.

The approach resembles the grassroots strategy promoted by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, which has helped activists gain influence within state and county Republican parties.

Abolitionists' influence sparks concerns among abortion rights activists

The move has sparked concerns among abortion rights activists, who fear that the shift could lead to further erosion of reproductive rights. As the debate over abortion continues to rage, one thing is clear: the influence of abortion abolitionists is growing, and their impact on the broader antiabortion movement will be felt for years to come.