Republicans push pro-family, pro-mother policies in wake of Dobbs ruling

Republicans have pivoted to proposing a range of measures to provide a social safety net for women and families after endorsing the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ended the national right to an abortion.

While Democrats are hoping to downplay the state of the economy and make abortion a key issue going into the November midterm elections, Republicans are trying to win over suburban women and moderate voters after backing the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned the abortion issue back to the states.

On Wednesday, a group of Republicans led by Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., proposed bicameral legislation called the Unborn Child Support Act, which would allow expecting mothers to collect child support payments while they are pregnant.

“Caring for the well-being of our children begins long before a baby is born,” Cramer said in a statement announcing the proposal. “It begins at the first moment of life – conception – and fathers have obligations, financial and otherwise, during pregnancy. Mothers should be able to access child support payments as soon as she is supporting a child. Our bill makes this possible.”