Elected Republicans and Democrats marked the first anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade on Saturday by appealing to voters on both sides of the legal abortion debate.
Dozens of elected officials nationwide issued statements aimed at stoking voter sentiment, which some analysts say has trended blue nationally since the Supreme Court handed pro-life supporters a stunning victory in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health last June 24.
“There is nothing humane or benign about abortion,” said Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. “Abortion is not healthcare, unless one construes the precious life of an unborn child to [be] analogous to a tumor to be excised or a disease to be vanquished.”
“Millions of people will not sit back and watch as their freedom and fundamental right to choose are stolen from them,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. “Here in California, the right to abortion care is embedded in our constitution, and we’re leading a coalition of 22 governors to defend this right across our nation – putting women above extremist, minority views.”
Last year, the high court voted in a landmark 6-3 ruling to overturn Roe and return jurisdiction to the states.
Since then, about 25 states have moved to tighten abortion restrictions, with the other half moving to expand access.
In the divided federal government, House Republicans are pushing for federal restrictions ranging from a national standard set at 15 weeks’ gestation to a complete ban.
On the other side of the aisle, Senate Democrats and the White House have lobbied for federal legislation guaranteeing a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy.
“Literally, the Democrats have run the table on the Dobbs decision, doing much better in 2022 than anyone expected,” James Carville, a Democratic Party strategist, told The Washington Times.
In the November 2022 midterm elections, the issue favored Republican hard-liners in many primaries but ensured their defeat in general election contests against Democrats, added Mr. Carville, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton.
“If you’re in a Republican primary in many places, you’re better off with a more hardline position,” he said. “But it’s pretty tough sledding in a general election. That may change if the Republicans keep getting beat.”
Some pro-life analysts have vigorously disputed this narrative.
“Contrary to mainstream media spin, public attitudes on abortion have not shifted all that much after Dobbs,” said Michael New, a Catholic University of America political scientist who studies abortion statistics. “However, supporters of legal abortion are more energized and more mobilized. People who support legal abortion are more likely to cast their vote based on the abortion issue.”
Democrats hope to build on a surge of pro-choice turnout in the midterms, which they credit for limiting GOP gains in a backlash against the Dobbs ruling.
“The strength of our nation has always been that we move forward. We must now come together to show what kind of country we want to live in and reject the notion that our rights are up for debate,” Vice President Kamala Harris wrote in a Democratic National Committee fundraising email Saturday.
Establishment Republicans have sought to build on the momentum of the most singificant pro-life victory since the 1973 Roe decision legalized abortion nationwide.
The GOP on Saturday distanced itself from the idea of a complete federal ban, focusing instead on restricting late-term abortions.
“The idea that prominent Democrats refuse to condemn late-term abortions, when babies can feel pain and survive outside the womb, is downright dystopian,” the Republican National Committee said in a statement on the Dobbs anniversary. “That’s why Republicans need to tout our positions proudly. We are the pro-women, pro-family party.”
According to a recent Gallup poll, 52% of adults nationwide see abortion as morally acceptable, unchanged from last year.
National polling has consistently shown that most Americans want abortion legal during the first trimester of pregnancy.
In a poll Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America released Friday, 77% of voters said they favor “at least some limits” on abortion by 15 weeks, allowing exceptions for rape or incest. That includes majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents who responded to the survey.
At the same time, an NBC News poll released Friday found 61% of registered voters disapproved of the Dobbs ruling, with Democrats expressing more intense disapproval than Republican approval. According to the poll, 87% of Democrats “strongly disapprove” and just 52% of Republicans “strongly approve” of the ruling.
That enthusiasm gap hasn’t scared off pro-life activists.
Buoyed by Dobbs, they plan to lobby GOP candidates in upcoming elections for state and federal restrictions on access to abortion pills —and to withhold their support from Republicans who seem wishy-washy.
“We have not been rid of the scourge of abortion, and the abortion industry is fast adapting its efforts,” Jeff Bradford, president of the Texas-based Human Coalition, said Saturday. “Abortion pills now account for more than half of recorded abortions, and they are being illegally trafficked into pro-life states.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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