Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans have suffered a string of defeats, from referenda on abortion rights to state supreme court races to gubernatorial and state legislative elections. It’s no surprise, then, that the GOP is desperate to avoid abortion becoming its 2024 albatross. But rather than neuter the issue by moderating its stance and respecting popular consensus, the party’s answer is to offer up duplicitous bromides meant to hoodwink voters.
This month’s off-year elections provided more evidence that most Americans reject a moralizing minority restricting their right to medical care. Deep-red Ohio easily passed Issue 1, enshrining the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Virginia Democrats swept both legislative chambers after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin pledged to push a 15-week ban. And Pennsylvania Democrats held onto a fifth seat on the state’s seven-member Supreme Court, winning by more than 6 percentage points in a race where abortion was the central issue.
Republicans know it would be political suicide to advocate for a 15-week national ban.
Jittery Republican officials and strategists flailed around for answers, ultimately taking to the media to contend, disingenuously, that they in fact want to compromise on the issue. Despite Virginia voters’ clear message to Youngkin, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel insisted on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that a 15-week ban was a “reasonable” and “consensus” position. She urged Republican candidates to run on that message — and to paint Democrats as “extreme on this issue.”
At the most recent Republican presidential primary debate, held the day after the elections, candidate Nikki Haley called for “consensus,” saying, “As much as I’m pro-life, I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice, and I don’t want them to judge me for being pro-life.” That’s a nice message for your neighborhood picnic, but it’s a…
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