Focus on the Family president 'encouraged' by election outcome despite mixed results on abortion laws
The president of Focus on the Family says he’s “encouraged” by Tuesday’s election results even as he acknowledged both victories and setbacks for the pro-life movement.
In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s win, Jim Daly issued a statement this week expressing cautious optimism about the election outcome while clarifying that the organization’s reaction is not driven by partisan interests.
“Focus on the Family is encouraged by Tuesday’s election results — a decisive and electoral and popular vote triumph for President-elect Donald Trump — but not because of any partisan cheerleading,” Daly said. “Instead, the outcome confirms American families are hungry to live in a nation where they can raise their children in an environment that is physically safe, economically viable, and where moms and dads and kids can unapologetically worship God.”
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Daly said he believes American voters are eager for a society where they can live out their values without fear of government overreach. “They believe parents — not politicians — have the authority to guide and direct their children’s education. They believe their daughters shouldn’t have to fear boys in their locker room — or face off against them in a woman’s sporting event,” he stated, pointing to ongoing debates about issues like the participation of trans-identified male athletes in women’s sports.
“They’re fed up with politicians making common sense complex in an effort to confuse and advance an anti-family agenda.”
Daly also called for prayers for the nation’s leaders: “Scripture commands Christians to pray for ‘all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’ (1 Timothy 2:2), and so we must lift up the former and future president, as well as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and all those who are guiding and leading our nation.” Daly said.
Turning to the outcome of statewide abortion initiatives on the ballot in 10 states, which saw voters in seven states supporting pro-abortion ballot measures as such referendums came up short in three states, Daly acknowledged some challenges going forward.
“We celebrate pro-life wins in Florida, South Dakota and Nebraska,” he said. In Florida, where abortion will remain illegal after a heartbeat can be detected, Daly noted the significance of the victory for the pro-life cause and praised Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who he said “boldly, courageously, and successfully campaigned to defeat the Florida abortion initiative.”
“He demonstrated strong and confident leadership in the face of angry and well-funded opposition,” Daly added. “Governor DeSantis modeled the way to advocate for a principled position by leaning into the issue and not slinking away from it.”
Daly also pointed to the broader implications of the results: “Governors who embraced the fight for life delivered victories for children and their mothers. Those who hid from the issue saw defeat.”
However, Daly also acknowledged the heartbreak of losses in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York, where voters approved codifying a right to abortion in state law. “The tragic passage of abortion laws in seven other states reflects the important work we have in the pro-life movement to make abortion unthinkable.”
Daly’s statement closed with a reminder of the ongoing work ahead: “We now press ahead to persuade more people in every state that it’s a baby in the womb deserving of love and protection! As the apostle Paul commanded, ‘Let us not grow weary in well-doing.’”
Despite mixed results following Tuesday’s election, many pro-life leaders voiced a collective sigh of relief: had Harris won the presidency and Democrats gained complete control of the federal government, legislation establishing a federal right to abortion nationwide would have likely become law.
As the pro-life activists highlighted in their reactions to the election results, such a measure would have had the effect of nullifying pro-life protections implemented by states after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion.
