Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is teaming up with influential Christian organizations to roll out a new pledge designed to push Republican officeholders and candidates to take a firm stand against abortion, a move that comes as the party’s platform has softened on the issue.
Hawley announced the “Declaration for Life” on Wednesday after hosting the first Missouri Prayer Breakfast, which drew dozens of pastors to the historic Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building. The pledge, drafted by more than 30 pastors from across the country, has already been signed by over 100 Missouri clergy and 50,000 citizens, timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“This is a declaration for life, calling on the country to once again embrace a culture of life and in particular to put a stop to the scourge of the abortion drug known as mifepristone,” Hawley said at the unveiling. He emphasized the need for spiritual leaders and everyday Christians to “stand for life” and confront what he called the “scourge of chemical abortion.”
The initiative was introduced alongside Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a prominent Christian public policy group, and Sean Feucht, a Christian singer and founder of the Let Us Worship movement. Perkins argued that the Republican Party has lost its voice on abortion, pointing to the GOP’s decision in 2024 to drop its call for a national abortion ban from the official party platform.
“Unfortunately the Republican Party has lost its voice on the life issue, and in that vacuum there are leaders stepping forward like Sen. Hawley calling upon the church, communities, and the country to step up on behalf of the unborn,” Perkins said. He added that the declaration is a starting point for establishing a clear standard for elected officials, and that his organization will circulate it widely to make it a benchmark for candidates.
Hawley’s push includes a legislative component: in March, he introduced a bill to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone for abortion, making its distribution for pregnancy termination a violation of federal law, and allowing women to sue manufacturers. The bill has at least seven Republican cosponsors but has seen little traction within the Senate GOP conference.
“My observation is that when it comes to elected officials in Congress, there hasn’t been much will to do much of anything to protect the innocent and unborn, and I think we’ve got to change that,” Hawley said. He urged all candidates for federal office to sign the pledge, saying, “I think that we should call on anybody who wants to serve in this body to take that pledge and that commitment.”
The effort draws a parallel to the influential Taxpayer Protection Pledge promoted by Grover Norquist in the 1990s, which successfully pressured Republicans to oppose tax increases. Hawley and his allies hope the Declaration for Life will serve a similar role on abortion-related votes, such as restricting mifepristone and defunding Planned Parenthood.
The four-page declaration asserts that “the defense of human life is the oldest of American causes” and that the right to life in the Declaration of Independence is “the most foundational of all rights.” It notes that the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade did not end abortion in America, and that the availability of mifepristone has actually increased the number of abortions performed. “So long as the abortion drug can turn every mailbox in America into an abortion clinic, state laws alone cannot protect human life,” the text reads, calling on Congress to “end the scourge of mail-order abortions by banning the abortion drug.”
Hawley’s move comes as Republicans face a brutal midterm hangover, with some GOP candidates split on embracing Trump and the party’s convention drawing sparse attendance from top lawmakers. The pledge is likely to become a litmus test for Republican hopefuls in the 2026 primaries, as Christian nationalist influence grows in the House. Hawley, who has also widened his AI surveillance probe to other tech firms, is positioning himself as a leading voice on social conservatism.
