The election of President Obama, who supports abortion rights, and a Democratic Congress has "divided" the abortion-rights opposition movement over whether its members should support polices aimed at reducing the need for abortion rather than continuing to focus on overturning Roe v. Wade, Newsweek reports. The conflict is occurring between antiabortion-rights groups "who are preparing for the fight of their lives and those who see an opportunity to redefine what it means to be pro-life," according to Newsweek. Although the so-called "abortion reduction" strategy "may not sound radical," there are "legions" of abortion-rights opponents who believe that "even the use of the word 'reduction' instead of elimination borders on heresy" and "strikes many as a wrong-headed signal that tolerating any level of abortion is acceptable," Newsweek reports.
The antiabortion movement made "progress" during the eight years of the Bush administration, including promoting state-level restrictions on abortion access. In 2007 there were approximately 400 proposed state bills to restrict abortion, an increase of more than 50% from 2006, according to Americans United for Life. However, many antiabortion-rights advocates "worry that their victories from the past eight years have been made vulnerable" with Obama's election and his recent repeal of the "global gag rule," also known as the "Mexico City" policy, which banned federal funding for international family planning groups that offer abortion services or information, even with their own funds, Newsweek reports. As a result, some antiabortion groups are returning their attention to increasing grassroots campaigns to gain support. Jill Stanek, a prominent anitabortion-rights blogger, said of the Obama administration and Democratic Congress, "We won't get anything past them. The only reason we'd be introducing legislation now is to gain public awareness." Abortion-rights opponents also "fear" that their focus on state-level restrictions "may have run its course" after voters rejected antiabortion ballot initiatives in South Dakota, California and Colorado in 2008. James Brown, chief of staff for abortion-rights opponent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), said that in "reality" such ballot initiatives "have gone as far as they can go," adding that the "question is, where does it go from here?"
However, a "small group" of antiabortion advocates "sees the change in Washington as an opportunity to reshape some of the movement's core principles." For example, RealAbortionSolutions, which launched during the 2008 election, ran advertisements calling for abortion-rights opponents to "ask ourselves what it really means to be pro-life" and "come together on solutions based on results, not rhetoric." Newsweek reports that a "handful of groups" are at the "intersection of religion and politics" with regard to abortion, including Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Faith in Public Life. Jim Wallis, director of the progressive evangelical group Sojourners, said it is unlikely that Roe will ever be overturned "no matter what your convictions are." He said, "Let's look at results. How do you really reduce abortion? You support women's health care, you promote involved fatherhood." According to Newsweek, recent research linking abortion and poverty has led some antiabortion groups to focus on social welfare initiatives -- such as adoption support or increased Medicaid benefits and education assistance for pregnant women -- with the aim of decreasing abortions.
A 2008 survey by Third Way, a not-for-profit think tank promoting bipartisan cooperation, found that 72% of Americans support the public policy goal of reducing the need for abortions through initiatives to prevent unintended pregnancies and support women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. According to Newsweek, Obama "offered an optimistic view of the level of cooperation possible" between the two sides of the abortion debate in a statement issued on the anniversary of Roe. Obama in the statement called for "common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information and preventative services." In addition, Wallis, who was involved in discussion with Obama advisers surrounding the Roe anniversary, said that Obama intentionally delayed his repeal of the Mexico City policy until after the anniversary in an attempt to "to do it quietly, without fanfare." He added that by issuing the statement about the anniversary before rescinding the policy, Obama "sent a clear signal that he's not looking to start a fight with people who are pro-life."
Obama's team "may still have a hard time bringing the two sides together," despite the support for such an approach and the efforts to increase bipartisanship in the early days of his administration, Newsweek reports. Previous attempts at the "common ground" strategy have "stalled" because legislators from both sides of the issue are "loath to put their votes behind the other side's tactics," according to Newsweek. For example, abortion-rights supporters want to increase access to contraception, while opponents want more funding for pregnancy-support programs. NARAL Pro-Choice America Policy Director Donna Crane said that the group opposes Casey's Support for Pregnant Woman Act (S.B. 2407) because of "the absence of important pieces, like contraception, and the presence of some parts tinged with anti-choice values." Kirsten Day, executive director of Democrats for Life, said the "biggest obstacle" for legislation aimed at reducing the need for abortion is that "people look at it and they're going, 'Okay, what's the angle here? What are you pushing?'" She added, "It's support for pregnant women. There's no hidden agenda here" (Kliff, Newsweek, 1/27).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
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