Last week I noted how I, among with several other liberal bloggers I linked to, were skeptical of polls which seemed to show the country backsliding in support for abortion rights. While people might have qualms about abortion and possibly even like terms such as pro-life, we doubted that they would either support overturning Roe v. Wade or support returning to the days of shirt hanger abortions. We now have an answer as to attitudes on Roe v. Wade from a CNN poll:
The 1973 Roe versus Wade decision established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. Would you like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe versus Wade decision, or not?
30% Yes, overturn
68% No, not overturn
If they are going to be taken seriously again as a national party, Republicans need to recognize that the debate over abortion has been lost. Republicans are on the wrong side of this issue both morally and politically. While voters do have some qualms about abortion, most do recognize that regardless of their personal feelings this is a matter which can only be made by the woman involved, not by the state. For the Republicans to give greater weight to the rights of a first trimester fetus over the mother shows an ignorance of both biology and ethics.
A woman’s body belongs to herself, not to the state. Taking the opposing viewpoint on this is becoming as antiquated as previous Republican opposition to civil rights legislation. Such as they have generally moderated their past views on race, Republicans need to modernize their world view and give up their opposition to abortion rights, as well as their support for many other restrictions on reproductive rights.
Republicans have already lost on the abortion issue. I suspect that within the next decade, if not sooner, we will be saying the same about their opposition to marriage equality. Sometimes it is necessary for a political party to give up on issues where they have lost in order to pursue their agenda in more important areas, as the Democrats have done on gun control. Rather than clinging to ideas of the past, Republicans would be far better off to abandon their opposition to same-sex marriage along with their opposition to abortion rights.
