Throughout my career, I have worked with leaders of the pro-life movement. I have campaigned for Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, worked with the activist Phyllis Schlafly and for the conservative thinker Bill Kristol, as well as for Vice President Dick Cheney. In 1999, when Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York City, who supports abortion rights, formed a committee to explore a Senate run, I sought and won special dispensation from my pro-life mentors. (He was planning a run against Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the first lady, so that was easy.) I now work with a champion of the conservative movement, John Ashcroft, a former senator from Missouri who was attorney general under President George W. Bush. While my pro-life credentials are in good order, I urge my fellow Republicans to rethink our approach to pro-life advocacy.

Like Mr. Jindal, I believe we need to empower women to avoid unplanned pregnancies. Encouraging abstinence among young women is positive and necessary, but not enough. Supporting Title X is critical to reducing unwanted pregnancies. Pro-life Republicans must strive to ensure that no woman finds herself pregnant because she cannot afford effective contraception, as these women will either have abortions or give birth under Medicaid coverage, which increases the burden on taxpayers.

Maintaining a federal role in contraceptive care for low-income women is a far more moral, empathetic and fiscally responsible approach to the problem of unwanted pregnancies than simply condemning abortion — notwithstanding conservative principles of personal responsibility and limited government. If every woman who wanted reliable contraceptive care got it, irrespective of income, we should expect that abortion services would substantially decrease. This would not only reduce government spending on Medicaid — a dollar spent on contraceptive care is associated with a $2 to $6 reduction in health care costs — but, more important, avert the tragedy and anguish involved in abortion. And it would empower women to decide for themselves when they want to have children, advance their education or pursue career opportunities.

In the next round of budget proposals, the Republican-controlled House should take the opportunity to outflank President Obama and the Senate Democrats by proposing a budget that increases the baseline financing for Title X. At the same time, to make their pro-life position emphatically clear, they should vote on a bill denying federal funds to any group that performs abortions. The moral and financial costs of restricting contraceptive access far outweigh conservative concerns motivating Republicans’ recent opposition to Title X.

We pro-life advocates need to lead the Title X charge. Mr. Jindal’s proposal for over-the-counter contraceptives is an excellent policy objective, but it is likely to take years of study before the Food and Drug Administration could clear such sales. In contrast, increasing Title X funding would be an immediate step that the Republican Party could take to reach out to women. Through promoting wider access to contraceptives in this way, Republicans would be making a tangible effort to reduce the number of abortions — which was our real goal all along.