April 11, 2025
The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) has championed Protection at Conception and similar legislation that supports this undeniable truth for this simple reason: that each unique human Life has value and deserves to be protected in law and service. So, when a self-proclaimed “pro-life” legislator kills life-saving laws, even after meeting and posing with our staff and students, Students for Life Action (SFLAction) springs into action. That’s exactly what happened in North Carolina.
With South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida upholding life-saving laws, Americans may not know that North Carolina is the abortion tourism spot of the Southeast Coast, committing nearly 46,000 abortions each year (if you believe the Guttmacher Institute‘s 2023 reporting).
That soon could change, however, with the introduction of HB 804, the Human Life Protection Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. Keith Kidwell, who’s a part of the House Freedom Caucus. If passed, this bill would make virtually all abortion illegal, making North Carolina’s abortion up to three-months law obsolete.
This is a slam dunk for pro-life constituents and legislators. With Republicans holding a majority in the North Carolina House and Senate, it’s an easy and life-saving win for preborn North Carolinians.
However, there seems to be a fox in North Carolina’s pro-life henhouse.
House Speaker Destin Hall’s lack of leadership is on full display by his refusing to hear the bill in the NC House of Representatives or committee this legislative session, giving a nothing burger “reason.”
“I don’t think there’s any real desire in our caucus to hear that particular bill,” said Hall. “So, it’s not going to be heard in committee.”
This starkly contrasts with the Destin Hall who met with SFLAction only TWO MONTHS ago and promised SFLAction students he would protect Life, even posing for a photo-op. Yet, when given the golden opportunity, he refuses to advance the bill – despite a veto-proof majority until recently.
That’s what earns a PLINO (pro-life in name only) legislator a primary opponent, and SFLAction is no stranger to a successful primary challenge.
The reality is that the days of being “pro-life” in words but not in legislative action are over. Legislators used to hide behind Roe v. Wade for their inability to act, all the while waxing on about protecting Life in the womb. After Roe’s reversal, many Republicans have kept good on their promise, but for those like Hall, who seem insincere in their pro-life agenda, the flashlight shines brightly on their hypocrisy.
SFLAction doesn’t mind holding that flashlight. In fact, North Carolina’s sister state, South Carolina, experienced the power of grassroots education to oust the “Senator Sisters,” Katrina Shealy, Sandy Senn, and Penry Gustafson, who should’ve thought twice before siding with South Carolina House Democrats to shut down life-saving bills.
Even a favorable New York Times profile couldn’t save these three pro-abortion Republicans from being ousted in the 2024 election, thanks to SFLAction’s hard work. The total SFLAction grassroots programing in South Carolina included 37,407 pieces of mail, 129,241 text messages, 51,371 phone calls, 2,572 doors knocked, and 91,923 digital ad impressions. To put a bow on their defeat, we even gifted them moving boxes.
It just goes to show that SFLAction holds self-proclaimed “pro-life” politicians accountable, regardless of the letter next to their name. As SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins penned in her October 2024 Townhall op-ed, “Protecting preborn babies and their mothers from the false choice and barbarism of abortion is righteous and worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. To join us in this work, the Pro-Life Generation will hold accountable those who claim to care. The issue is not whether a candidate has an R for Republican next to their name. We vote P – Pro-Life First.”
We stand ready to expose the glaring contradictions in Hall’s pro-life stance and demand that he changes his stance on hearing this life-saving bill. It’s time for Hall to stop speaking from both sides of his mouth and stand for Life and acknowledge the science that Life begins at conception. Little North Carolinian lives depend on it.