It took nearly 50 years of wins and losses, advances and setbacks, for the pro-life movement to finally win the prize — overturning Roe v. Wade. Not every story ends “happily ever after” with toppling the evil empire, however, because that’s when the real work of governing actually begins.

Indeed, over the last year, Republicans nationwide have struggled to both govern and offer a coherent and winning platform on abortion after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned the issue to the states. Democrats successfully exploited the issue to stave off some losses in the 2022 midterm elections, and they clearly aim to keep stoking fear among their constituents going into 2024.

Just as abolitionists sought a United States without a single slave, pro-lifers want a modern America where every preborn baby’s right to life is preserved and where elective abortion isn’t by far the leading cause of death for American children. That won’t happen overnight, especially in Democrat-run states where abortion has effectively become a sacrament of their religion. It might not even happen in so-called red states where most voters still want moderate policies rather than outright bans.

As commentator Erick Erickson argues, “A public forced to choose between a total ban on abortion and one that allows abortion-on-demand until birth will gravitate toward abortion-on-demand, reasoning they do not have to have one themselves.”

That means Republicans might have to actually go out and … persuade people.

It shouldn’t be that hard. After all, the pro-life position is not the extreme one. Democrats own that title, demanding abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, which is the policy in just six other countries in the world. Three of those are the communist utopias of China, North Korea, and Vietnam.

Democrats not only want abortion on demand, they want to strip healthcare workers of religious liberty and conscience protections that would keep them from having to choose between keeping their jobs and performing abortions against their beliefs. Democrats don’t even want laws requiring that minors seeking an abortion notify their parents.

Those are extreme positions.

Democrats also steadfastly secure massive annual federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which performs two out of every five abortions in America. Oh, they repeatedly assure us that taxpayer dollars don’t pay for abortions, but money is fungible. According to its 2021-2022 annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 374,155 abortions — the second most in its history. It also benefited from a 5.8% year-over-year increase in government grants and reimbursements, to the tune of $670.4 million.

Tell us again that taxpayer dollars don’t fund abortions.

“Overall,” says professor Michael New, “an examination of previous Planned Parenthood annual reports shows a consistent long-term trend of performing more abortions and providing fewer health services. In fact, in 20 years the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood affiliates has increased by an astounding 75.6 percent. During the same time period, prenatal services offered by Planned Parenthood affiliates have gone down by more than 60 percent.”

Unfortunately, one kind of Planned Parenthood service that has not declined is “transitioning” teenagers, though such services are likely hidden under categories like “Other Procedures” in its report. If Planned Parenthood workers aren’t killing kids, they’re grooming them.

Planned Parenthood’s report claims to have provided more than nine million total services, of which 374,155 abortions were but a small fraction. But 3.6 million STI tests, 914,116 pregnancy tests, and a paltry 1,803 adoption referrals don’t negate the fact that Planned Parenthood’s bread and butter is abortion.

Yet even when Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Paul Ryan controlled the levers of power in Washington, Republicans couldn’t — or wouldn’t — defund Planned Parenthood. Certainly with Democrats now in control of the Senate and White House, there’s little that can be done on that front.

As for other legislation, Republicans ought to pursue incremental gains. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is exploring a presidential bid, wants a federal law banning abortion at 20 weeks gestation. “A majority of Americans have previously supported that time frame,” notes Erickson, “which still puts the United States to the left of Europe.”

Another presidential contender, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, likewise aims to make Republican abortion policy marked by successful moderation. “I want to save as many lives and help as many moms as possible,” Haley said at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America headquarters this week. “To do that at the federal level, the next president must find national consensus.”

Consensus is not a heretical word, in this case. It’s a pragmatic one. As Haley rightly argued, “You don’t save any lives if you can’t enact your position into law.”

Indeed, Republicans must figure out if they’d rather save more lives through good legislation or fewer lives by failing to pass perfect legislation.

The point here isn’t to say that either Scott or Haley is the flawless messenger who brings the final solution. It’s to remind Republicans and conservatives that steady and patient progress in passing laws and winning court cases is the legal path to saving more preborn lives.

Ultimately, as we said last June, the most important task going forward is loving women in crisis. No matter the laws, that must be the humble and prevailing message of the pro-life movement, or we will win few hearts or minds.