For nearly 50 years, those of us who favor legal protection for children in the womb have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow abortion policy to be set through democratic debate. Now we’re having that debate, and strategists in both parties say we’re losing it.
We should be clear-eyed about the accumulating political evidence of public discontent with anti-abortion policies. Polling has shown an uptick in support for legal abortion since the court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats tell pollsters the issue is motivating their votes more than Republicans do. Republicans’ poll numbers have fallen overall. And voters in Kansas overwhelmingly defeated a referendum to let the state legislature increase restrictions on abortion.
Midterm elections typically go poorly for the party that holds the White House, likely in part because its supporters are complacent and its opponents aggrieved. The abortion decision, and the flurry of restrictions and proposed restrictions that followed it, have at least blunted the Republican advantage this year. On abortion, it’s the party out of power that is making controversial changes.
