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There are moments in politics when voters aren’t simply choosing between two names on a ballot. They are deciding what kind of leadership they expect when the pressure is on. For pro-life South Carolinians, the August 25 Republican Senate runoff is one of those moments.
Students for Life Action (SFLA) proudly endorsed Congressman Ralph Norman for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat because we don’t have to wonder where he will stand when the lives of mothers and their preborn children are at stake. His record already tells us.
Our cause is simple and noble: every human life has value, and no woman should ever feel that abortion is her only option. And when it comes to choosing who to vote for, we need not just words but deeds, especially in the U.S. Senate. It’s not a place to learn on the job.
That means protecting children before birth while standing alongside women during and after pregnancy. It means making campuses more welcoming to pregnant and parenting students. It means ensuring that taxpayers aren’t forced to subsidize abortion. And it means confronting the growing distribution of chemical abortion pills that can end a child’s life far from meaningful medical oversight.
Ralph Norman has demonstrated that he understands these priorities.
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Norman supported the “Pregnant Students’ Rights Act“, legislation championed by SFLAction to ensure pregnant students know about the resources and protections available to them. He voted for it again when the House passed the measure in January.
He has supported the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act“ and legislation assisting pregnant and parenting women and families. Norman has also opposed taxpayer funding of abortion and repeatedly introduced legislationrequiring greater transparency in abortion reporting. Most recently, he introduced the “Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2025“, which would require states receiving certain federal Medicaid family-planning funds to report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
His pro-life voting record has also earned him an A+ rating from SBA Pro-Life America’s congressional scorecard, even though the organization endorsed his opponent, U.S. Sen. Darline Graham.
And when South Carolina’s right to keep Medicaid dollars from Planned Parenthood reached the courts, Norman didn’t sit on the sidelines.
He joined South Carolina leaders in an amicus brief in Medina v. Planned Parenthood, defending the state’s authority to determine which providers qualify for Medicaid funding. Norman argued that private organizations such as Planned Parenthood should not be able to force states to recognize them as qualified Medicaid providers contrary to the state’s determination.
That’s a record, not a campaign-season promise. And records matter.
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RELATED | CONTROVERSIAL ENDORSEMENTS SPARKS PRO-LIFE SCHISM
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Consider that in 2023, three South Carolina Republican state senators, who became known as the “Sister Senators,” joined Democrats in blocking legislation that would have protected life when it begins at conception, so the Pro-Life Generation organized. During the 2024 Republican primaries, SFLAction deployed staff, students, and resources across South Carolina. We sent more than 37,000 pieces of mail, delivered nearly 130,000 personal text messages, made more than 51,000 phone calls, and knocked on thousands of doors. Ultimately, all three of the GOP legislators were replaced.
But Graham contributed to one of the “sisters,” state senator Katrina Shealy. And she also accepted money from one of the most notorious GOP pro-abortion roadblocks in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The company she keeps is cause for concern.
And in undercover video released this week, Graham said she wasn’t sure where she stood about ending all abortions.
Norman has taken Students for Life Action’s Pro-Life Candidate Pledge, committing himself to protecting children from conception, opposing taxpayer-funded abortion, fighting chemical abortion pill trafficking, and supporting mothers and their children after birth.
We know where Ralph Norman stands because he stood with us before he needed our endorsement. That is exactly the kind of senator the Pro-Life Generation needs.
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South Carolina needs a Senator who will FIGHT for Life.
— Students for Life Action (@SFLAction) August 17, 2026
That’s why we are proud to endorse @RalphNorman for U.S. Senate.https://t.co/qVyPdhucuI pic.twitter.com/5tJfQlwkIq
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On Tuesday night, August 18, members of the Pro-Life Generation were outside the Newberry Opera House as Norman debated Sen. Darline Graham. Our students and activists came to Newberry because elections have consequences, and South Carolina’s next Senator will have the opportunity to determine whether Washington protects Life or continues sending taxpayer dollars to an abortion industry responsible for ending it.
Our team will be knocking on doors this weekend. We’ll engage with voters. And we’ll continue building a generation that understands that human rights begin when human life begins.
But on Tuesday, August 25, pro-life South Carolinians have the opportunity to do their part as well.
Students for Life Action proudly supports Ralph Norman for the United States Senate because the Pro-Life Generation doesn’t just need politicians who say the right things during election season. We need fighters who will stand for Life when the vote is called.
Ralph Norman has shown us that he will.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Kristan Hawkins is president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, with more than 1,700 groups on middle and high school, college and university, medical and law school campuses in all 50 states. Follow her @KristanHawkins or subscribe to her podcast, The Kristan Hawkins Show.
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