Pro-life voters looking for more

A new poll warns some Republican voters are looking for more action on pro-life issues from the Trump administration ahead of the midterms.

The Family Research Council poll found that 6% of Republican voters said they would be less likely to vote for a Republican candidate after learning the federal government still allows abortion pills to be distributed through telehealth and the mail without an in-person doctor’s visit.

A 6-point drop among Republican voters could matter in close House and Senate races.

Cygnal conducted the poll for the Family Research Council. It examined Republican voters’ views on abortion and the Trump administration’s handling of the issue.

Pollster John Rogers said researchers first informed voters about current Food and Drug Administration policy. They then asked whether it changed how likely respondents were to vote Republican.

“What we found when we asked a follow-up question and we framed the FDA policy, which allows chemical abortion drugs to be mailed into states without in-person physician oversight, we asked, ‘Does that make you more or less likely to vote for a Republican in the midterm election?’ And we found that 6% of Republican voters said that they would be less likely to vote for a Republican candidate in the November midterm election after hearing that news,” Rogers said.

The poll also found that only 20% of Republican voters knew abortions had increased since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The Dobbs ruling allowed states to enact stronger pro-life laws. Many pro-life voters expected abortions to decline after the decision. But pro-life groups say abortion pills have helped keep abortion numbers high because women can order them online and receive them by mail, even in pro-life states.

The Lion recently reported that several pro-life leaders want the administration to roll back Biden-era leniency and require women to see a doctor in person before obtaining mifepristone and to stop the drug from being shipped by mail, which has led to abuse.

The Lion also reported that Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, introduced legislation that would ban mifepristone for abortion.

“Congress needs to ban it, and only Congress can ban it,” Hawley told The Lion in March.