Josh Hawley launches new anti-abortion group as Missouri gears up for 2026 vote
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion in the summer of 2022, Sen. Josh Hawley touted the ruling as a historic moment for “modern-day abolitionists.”
The decision, known as Dobbs, ushered in a chaotic era for women and doctors, returning the future of abortion access to the states. But in the more than three years since the ruling, nearly a dozen states have voted to protect access, including Hawley’s home state of Missouri.
Hawley and his wife, Erin, a prominent anti-abortion lawyer, are hoping to change that trend — through marketing.
The Hawleys last week launched a new dark money group designed to promote anti-abortion ballot measures across the country. The group, called the Love Life Initiative, plans to run a series of national ad campaigns elevating the cause, according to its website.
Hawley, in a statement to The Star, framed the group as a “generational project.”
“We believe there needs to be a strong voice advocating for life and making it easier to start a family,” he said. “That is fundamental to who we are as Americans and the future of our country.”
The launch marks a significant revelation for Missouri. Voters are gearing up for a statewide vote next year that would ban nearly all abortions, a retaliatory response from Republican lawmakers after a historic election in 2024 that legalized access to the procedure.
Messaging around the issue will be a key tactic for abortion opponents. Some have tried to sell voters on the idea that the measure offers reasonable restrictions on the procedure. Others have sought to muddy the waters, casting the amendment as an abortion rights measure itself.
Sam Lee, a longtime anti-abortion lobbyist in Missouri, said he hopes Hawley’s new group will work with the campaign pursuing the anti-abortion measure in Missouri.
“I certainly hope that they could donate directly,” Lee said. “Or, if the Love Life Initiative believes that they need to do independent expenditures in support of the new Amendment 3, that’s fine, too.”
Lee said he was “very pleased” with the Hawleys’ effort, suggesting it was a necessary step for the anti-abortion movement across the country.
“There’s not one organization nationwide that’s dedicated specifically to helping to both pass these pro-life measures that are on the ballot, but also to defeat the pro-abortion ones,” he said.
Missouri abortion rights advocates have flatly criticized the measure as an intentional effort to mislead voters into banning abortions again. Critics point to the fact that the question does not expressly mention an abortion ban and that it uses the same name as last year’s abortion rights measure, called Amendment 3.
The Republican attempts to reframe and influence the upcoming vote come as abortion rights remain popular across the country, including in red states like Kansas and Missouri. Polling has consistently suggested that a majority of voters support some level of access.
Abortion rights advocates argue that Missouri Republicans disrespected the will of their own voters when they decided to put the measure on the 2026 ballot at the end of last year’s chaotic legislative session.
Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, excoriated Hawley’s new group in a statement to The Star, saying the Republican senator “thinks he is the smartest boy in the class” who knows better than Missourians who voted to protect access to the procedure.
“Word is even the White House can see the writing on the wall: voters across political parties support legal abortion,” Schwarz said. “Missourians will vote again in 2026 to keep abortion legal, no matter how many little projects the Hawleys start.”
Hawley vs. Trump?
The new group signifies a remarkable move by Hawley, who has been rumored as a potential presidential candidate in 2028. The decision to tie himself closely with the anti-abortion movement could put him at odds with other national Republicans, who have struggled to navigate their position on abortion access in the wake of the Dobbs decision.
Hawley’s effort has reportedly sparked blowback from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has recently tried to distance the Republican Party from staunch anti-abortion stances. Axios reported Monday that Trump’s advisors were “furious” with Hawley over the new group.
“Picking a fight on an issue like abortion in a midterm is the height of asinine stupidity,” one advisor told the outlet.
A Hawley spokesperson did not respond to questions about the reported pushback. His office also did not respond to additional questions about his new group, which has released no information about its funding, leaders or where it will be based.
The Hawleys’ involvement in the anti-abortion movement is no surprise in Missouri, however.
The Missouri Republican has long opposed abortion access and has supported federal measures to limit the procedure. His wife, Erin Hawley, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, was a key figure in the Dobbs decision and has fought to sharply curtail access to medication abortion in front of the Supreme Court.
For Lee, the anti-abortion lobbyist, the Hawleys have had no qualms about staking out staunch positions against abortion. He said he was glad to see the couple “standing firm.”
“I hope they just raise lots and lots of money and then make good decisions about where the funds should go to,” he said. “Whether it goes to Missouri, goes to some other states, I mean, that’s their decision to make, but it’s definitely needed.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM.
