Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) Founder Ralph Reed said that some GOP candidates need to “grow a backbone” on the issue of abortion, according to an Associated Press article published Friday.
FFC’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., from June 22-24 falls over the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and dismissed the idea of a constitutional right to abortion. Reed said that in light of the timing of the two events he wanted to give the candidates a “bit of a testosterone booster shot” to encourage them to be more aggressive on the issue of abortion, according to the AP. (RELATED: Second Catholic President To Put Abortion Access ‘Front And Center’ In 2024 Campaign)
“But we’re certainly going to do everything that we can, as an organization and as a pro-life and pro-family movement, to give our candidates a little bit of a testosterone booster shot and explain to them that they should not be on the defensive,” Reed told the AP. “Those who are afraid of it need to, candidly, grow a backbone.”
With the anniversary of the Dobbs decision right around the corner, we’re thrilled to see the pro-life movement thriving! https://t.co/BkF55Zvnad
— Faith & Freedom (@FaithandFreedom) June 16, 2023
Several of the speakers for the event are GOP 2024 presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, according to the event website. DeSantis recently signed a six-week abortion heartbeat law that banned abortion after a doctor detects a baby’s cardiac activity.
Trump was criticized by the pro-life movement after he said that Republicans shouldn’t have focused on the abortion issue during the 2022 midterm elections, and then later said he would not support a federal abortion ban, preferring to leave the matter up to the states. On the other side of the aisle, Biden has made it clear that he plans to make abortion a “major theme” of his campaign by bringing the issue “front and center” and has called for Congress, on several occasions, to codify Roe.
FFC did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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