Political Parties, Abortion, and New Gun Control Legislation
Both Parties are Wrong on Abortion and President Biden Signs Bipartisan Gun Control Legislation into Law
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
The Lead: Political Parties and Abortion
A Closer Look at Republicans Who Favor Legal Abortion and Democrats Who Oppose It
Here Michael Lipka looks at how moderate members of two major political parties view abortion access in comparison to their more ideological members. Race, religion, and geography all reflect where people’s positions are on this issue.
60% of Republicans believe abortion should be illegal in most/all cases. When looking at which Republicans are pro-life, one finds strong support (78%) from the conservative wing of the party whereas (53%) moderates tend to support its legality.
80% of Democrats believe abortion should be legal in most/all cases. On the pro-choice wing of the party, 50% of support comes from liberals and a majority of supporters are white (56%). While pro-life Democrats are only 18% of the party, 76% of moderate Democrats identify as pro-life and almost half of pro-life Democrats are black (23%) or Hispanic (30%) [Pew Research Center]
Explainer: How Abortion Became a Divisive Issue in U.S. Politics
Andy Sulivan notes that when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, it was common to find pro-choice Republicans and pro-life Democrats because abortion had yet to become a partisan isue. In those days, one could find prominent Republicans such as First Lady Betty Ford calling Roe “a great, great decision” and Democrats such as a young Joe Biden saying the ruling went “too far.” Even throughout the 1980’s, one could find notable exceptions to this norm. In 1983, 34 Republicans and 15 Democrats voted to overturn Roe and 19 Republicans and 31 Democrats opposed it. Sullivan notes how George H.W. Bush, a one-time abortion advocate, was elected to the presidency in 1988 as a pro-life convert and Bill Clinton, a one-time abortion opponenet, unseated him in 1992 as a pro-choice convert.
Since 1989, pro-choice advocacy groups have donated $32 million to Democrats and $3 million to Republicans and pro-life advocacy groups have donated $14 million to Republicans and $372,000 to Democrats. [Reuters]
It’s Time for a New Way Forward on Abortion
Here, Chris Butler, a pro-life Democrat running for office in Illinois 1st Congressional District, notes that legal protections for the unborn must be matched with economic justice legislation to provide a stronger base of financial support for working class families. He cites that 40% of women choose abortion because they cannot afford children. Policies such as a guaranteed basic income, paid parental leave, and universal healthcare can all contribute to making abortion less of a desirable option for these families [The American Commons]
Analysis
I think both of our major parties could do much better when it comes to supporting working families and those in the traditional pro-life community must heed Butler’s calls for more pro-family economic policies. The pro-life community and advocacy organizations have a lot of improvement to do in understanding the wide range of needed-policies to reduce abortion and deciding which political candidates promote whole life solutions to this issue.
Many leaders in the Democratic Party need to moderate their position and recognize that this is an issue of conscience. In fact, only one Democratic Member of the House of Representatives is pro-life whereas ten Republican Members of the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump after the January 6th riots. The numbers cited in Sulivan’s article show that pro-choice spending for Democrats also outweighs pro-life spending for Republicans by roughly a 2:1 margin. There is also a remarkable amount of peer pressure on pro-life Democratic leaders to adopt the pro-choice position because of the leadership opportunities and endorsements it can unlock. It takes a lot of courage to hold a pro-life perspective as a Democrat and there is unfortunately too little support for such candidates both from within the party and from external groups.
I also want to encourage readers to use civil rhetoric on this issue. People of good-will do disagree on this and there are many ways in which advocates on both sides of this issue can work together to support women and families. Pro-lifers should refrain from using terms like “pro-aborts” and “baby killers” to refer to pro-choice advocates and pro-choice advocates should refrain from calling pro-lifers “Christian theocrats” or accusing them of being motivated by nothing other than mere power or a desire to control.
While rhetoric is not the same thing as action, what we say and how we treat people we disagree with matters. While I do not agree with Barack Obama’s pro-choice position, I really appreciate how he employs what I would call rhetorical responsibility. In a statement where he criticizes the court’s ruling, he states:
“People of goodwill, across the political spectrum, can hold different views on [abortion].”-Barack Obama [Medium]
This may only be one sentence in a very strong statement, but it matters. We do not need to hate each other for disagreeing on this issue. Using divisive and hateful rhetoric can also serve as a roadblock to coalition building on areas of agreement. Nobody wins when we attack the character of our ideological opponents and society loses when we create an environment where people are afraid of sharing their opinion on issues such as this with fear of being yelled at and/or outcasted.
For Your Radar
Biden Signs Gun Bill Into Law, Ending Years of Stalemate
On June 25, President Biden signed a bipartisan gun control bill into law which aspires to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms and invest in our country’s mental health system. Authorities now have ten days to investigate juvenile and mental health records for those under 21 wishing to purchase a firearm. It also strengthens laws against straw purchasing (when someone who cannot legally obtain a weapon has a proxy obtain one on their behalf and tightens the “boyfriend loophole.” 15 Senate Republicans [CNN] supported this compromise legislation, led by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC):
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senate minority leader
Roy Blunt of Missouri
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
John Cornyn of Texas
Joni Ernst of Iowa
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Rob Portman of Ohio
Mitt Romney of Utah
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Todd Young of Indiana
Analysis
It is great to see a bipartisan win on this issue. While there is certainly more work to be done on gun control, Sen. Murphy in particular deserves a lot of credit for helping frame a moderate piece of legislation that can save lives and was able to receive Republican support. These Republicans also deserve credit for passing a necessary measure that a vocal base of their party opposed.