With the incredible success of the recent 2026 Alaska March for Life in the rearview mirror, let’s shift our focus to what can be done politically with the civil rights issue of our time. The boots on the ground, which we experienced last month, are needed at the highest level of state government.

Proponents of abortion are certainly engaged to be sure.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has directed state resources and staff to build a mega abortion facility and train future abortionists.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration has heavily staffed abortion rights initiatives and focused staff resources on establishing California as a “refuge state” for those living in states where protections for the unborn are in place.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has prioritized a “whole-of-government” approach, directing state agencies and specialized staff to secure access to abortion medication, specifically stockpiling mifepristone. Her administration includes paid staff who are committed to leading efforts against pro-life pregnancy resource centers and ensuring abortion is widely available.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul employs a dedicated working group that meets regularly to expand abortion in her state, including sitting down with abortion influencers to guide state policy and fund abortion initiatives.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek employs staff specifically tasked with stockpiling abortion drugs and managing state-level legal protections for terminating unborn lives.

In short, governors in blue states all across the country have put social/cultural issues on the front burner not only in their election campaigns and incumbency rhetoric but in their administrations with dedicated, paid staff members who advance the pro-abortion agendas they were voted into office to expedite.

Can you blame them?

Conservative governors, on the other hand, not so much.

We need an Office of Unborn Advocacy in the governor’s office – staffed with dedicated, taxpayer-funded, state employees who are willing to do in Alaska what pro-abortion governors are doing right now across the country.

Even in red states with pro-life governors – think Florida, Texas and Louisiana – salaried positions focused exclusively on defending the unborn are pretty much non-existent. You could argue that in some red states, governors have campaigned so successfully to maintain an allied legislature that they don’t need to create these positions. They have willing partners going in the same direction.

But so do California, New York, New Mexico, Massachusetts and all the rest with pro-abortion governors and legislatures. So, what’s the difference?

It has to do, in some ways, with a small government mentality. A conservative and noble but misguided mindset that believes abortion, while important, is better left to the churches, non-profits and culture at large to resolve. Not something that should or could have taxpayer-funded positions dedicated to the cause. They likely even tell themselves that it’s a “separation of church and state” issue.

This paradigm, however it might exist, is wrong.

In Alaska, there are 14 executive departments, along with numerous divisions, boards, and commissions, with hundreds of salaried positions managing state functions such as natural resources, public safety, revenue, education, health and human services, transportation and many more. Staff are specifically hired to work in these spheres to impact change.

The rubber-meets-the-road reality, which I’ve experienced working in this arena for 20+ years, is that no matter how committed, sincere and articulate a governor may be regarding the issue of protecting unborn lives, there are simply too many distractions that they and their staff face, day in and day out, to give the matter the attention it rightly deserves. To effectively advance the sanctity of life and lift up that which is good, I am convinced – more than ever – that our next governor, if they happen to embrace a pro-life position, must put their money where their mouth is.

Being small-government-minded shouldn’t mean being small-minded. Government is actually an institution created by God for our good. What could be a more important “good” than ensuring the least of our society have the best shot at life and that women know they have better choices available to them?

In South Dakota, before her rise and fall in the Trump Administration, Kristi Noem actually threaded the needle and became the first governor in the nation to create a staffed office specifically to advocate for the rights of the unborn. These responsibilities included policy, litigation, legislation, and reaching out to allies – all with a laser focus on how she could protect the least of these who have yet to take their first breath. In a conversation I had personally with Noem’s staff member responsible for filling this office, I asked him if the task was too much for one individual. He told me he could hire five people to do it full-time, and it wouldn’t be enough.

Even in a red state like South Dakota, the pro-abortion forces in the culture, the courts, the legislature and in the deep state of Noem’s Administration itself, were working around the clock to make abortion more available. One of the most compelling things he told me was how this office, with direct access to Governor Noem, would collaborate and proactively synergize with existing pro-life ministries, pregnancy resource centers, influencers and leaders, in the private and public sectors to ensure a strategy was being employed to maximize results.

How refreshing, brilliant and obvious.

In our current State Legislature, where Republican lawmakers like Chuck Kopp and Louise Stutes in the House and Bert Stedman, Gary Stevens, Kelly Merrick, Cathy Giessel and Jessie Bjorkman in the Senate continue to give power to Democrats who are beholden to Planned Parenthood, we need a governor to move beyond passion and rhetoric. When our Alaska Supreme Court continues to misinterpret the privacy clause of our State Constitution by claiming a “right to abortion” that does not exist, we need something other than what we’ve been getting with public office holders simply “believing” in the cause.

We need an Office of Unborn Advocacy in the governor’s office – staffed with dedicated, taxpayer-funded, state employees who are willing to do in Alaska what pro-abortion governors are doing right now across the country.

Many of the current gubernatorial candidates for Alaska have pro-life beliefs and have tried to move the needle. I know a lot of them and believe they are sincere. But verbal support needs to be translated into resources that generate action. Now is the time to step up by agreeing to put pro-life beliefs into a devoted focus that has the potential to actually rescue those being led to slaughter. We need to ensure women know there are options other than terminating the life of their unborn child. Let’s encourage every pro-life candidate for governor to pledge actual financial resources and establish a much-needed Office of Unborn Advocacy.

Otherwise, it’s all talk.

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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