Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review, noted in a recent column that the Republican Party had half a century to prepare for the overturn of the Roe vs. Wade abortion decision, but still can’t seem to find its way.
His assessment was proven correct again this week when U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a bill that would legalize abortion nationwide within 15 weeks of conception.
The first curious element of Graham’s bill is that Republicans long have said that abortion laws ought to be left to the states — which is exactly what this summer’s Supreme Court ruling ordered. So all of a sudden, why is a prominent Republican senator trying to reverse course?
Curious Element No. 2: It takes only a few minutes of internet research to confirm that about 95% of induced abortions in America are performed before the fetus is 15 weeks old. So Graham’s bill, if it ever became law, would in theory prevent only 5% of abortions annually. The pro-life movement worked 50 years for that?
No doubt there are political considerations behind Graham’s decision. The reaction against the Dobbs ruling has been more negative than expected — best illustrated in the surprise results of last month’s Kansas referendum, where 55% of voters in a conservative state rejected a proposal to overturn abortion rights in the state Constitution.
Also, a number of conservative candidates in tight races for the midterm elections — in places like Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — have removed or softened anti-abortion pronouncements from their websites. It’s clear they are worried that the issue could convince enough people to vote against them in November.
In his column, Lowry said some Republican candidates have become “vague and non-responsive” on abortion questions. Others, just as mystifying, act as if there’s no political downside to a zero-tolerance position on abortion, objecting to exceptions for rape, incest or the mother’s health.
Maybe none of this applies to conservative Mississippi. Which is probably what people in Kansas said before their referendum. It’s like medical marijuana — you just never know till the votes are counted.
“Pro-life Republicans should say that they ultimately seek sweeping protections for unborn life but realize that they have to do much more public persuasion and, in the meantime, support a compromise proposal, say a gestational limit of 15 weeks,” Lowry wrote. (Which just happens to be what Graham’s bill offered.)
“For pro-lifers, this falls painfully short. But it would be in keeping with the trajectory of successful past campaigns of moral and social reform — settle for progress in the right direction, occupy politically defensible ground, and then advance over time.”
That’s a reasonable strategy in some states. But Congress ought to stay away from abortion law, if only because Republicans said that’s what they wanted. To that extent, Graham’s surprising legislation only muddies the water.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
