Following the reversal of Roe, many felt that Pro-Life Movement lacked a clear national rallying cry that could be easily understood and accepted by leaders and volunteers alike. We set out to explore the potential application of the 14th Amendment as the movement’s next united focus. Throughout the summer of 2023, key Pro-Life Movement leaders, supporters, and volunteers were interviewed to develop a variety of messages to test. From there, over 1,000 respondents who identified as “pro-life members” were surveyed to gauge their awareness of and support of applying the 14th Amendment to protections for the preborn.
Key findings are as follows:
- Only ¼ identified the need of a national rallying cry, making that the least of their priorities. Current pro-life volunteers do not naturally hold the 30,000-foot view. If we expect to help local leaders connect the need and impact of federal protection for preborn children, we must first demonstrate how their community efforts fit into this bigger picture.
- The majority agree a national rallying cry such as the 14th Amendment, would “greatly aid” the movement. While a rallying cry was not prioritized as the greatest need, it was, however, recognized as a significant benefit.
- There is a lot of education needed surrounding the 14th Amendment. Less than half of respondents were “moderately familiar” or better. More than half had never heard a pro-life leader apply the 14th Amendment to the preborn as a strategy before.
Top-performing messages that pro-life volunteers found most compelling:
- The preborn are members of the human species from the moment of fertilization.
- We need to work to get the right elected officials in place to support and pass a Life at Conception Act, which cites the 14th Amendment for why preborn people should be protected from abortion.
- History has shown countless examples when certain attributes of human beings were used to define a group of “non-persons” resulting in discrimination or violence.
- There is still work to do to ensure systems are in place to support pregnant women and to legally protect all humans, born and preborn.
While this study was informative, the messaging analysis is only surface level. Responses revealed there is much more needed to learn concerning the best possible story and framing surrounding the 14th Amendment. Once further testing is done, we will be able to create a winnable marketing campaign galvanizing pro-life Americans to both understand and engage to achieve 14th Amendment protections for preborn children.
One-quarter identify having a new national rallying point as the greatest need in the pro-life movement, the lowest of needs presented. Greatest Needs in the Pro-Life Movement
