Sunday was the 50the Anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. For pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike, this commemoration was nothing like the previous 49.
Curators still unsatisfied
Before pro-choicers marched on Washington on Sunday, pro-lifers took to the streets on Friday, less so about their victory after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (which Roe v. Wade overthrew in 2022) just to show her desire to continue the fight.
Emboldened by a decision few of them considered so quickly, they have already identified the next targets. They are evoking nothing less than a new chapter in the history of their movement and thinking big.
We can identify two main axes in the struggles to come. In the first case, we want to put pressure on states that still allow abortion and on states whose practices are restrictive but not restrictive enough.
Second major thrust: a Congressional bill banning abortion nationwide. Doctors who practice abortion become criminals.
Imagining the fate reserved for these doctors, the image of Dr. Wilbur Larch comes to mind. Perhaps you remember this fictional character from John Irving’s novel God’s Handiwork, The Devil’s Portion?
The doctor in the novel performs illegal abortions in the 1920s because he has never forgiven himself for allowing a patient to die at the hands of an untrained abortionist. He performs his abortions in an orphanage, where he takes in abandoned children.
Hot potato for Republicans
If we easily understand that the end of Roe c. Wade mobilizes conservative voters, she poses a dilemma for Republican politicians. You certainly noticed that, according to the Pew Research Center, 61% of Americans want abortion rights to be upheld.
To this high number we must add the list of states, including some Republicans, that have passed abortion rights protection laws. The cases in Michigan, Kansas and Kentucky have not gone unnoticed.
Furthermore, the results of the recent midterm elections have confirmed that voters, especially women, are willing to cast their votes on this issue alone. If the Democrats were able to avoid the “red wave,” it was because more voters mobilized to support their opposition to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
What would you do if you were elected under such circumstances? Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives are divided. How to exploit the topic now that Roe c. Wade is down? How to define what is now a life or a pro life? how far should we go
The Democrats will certainly not afford the luxury of thinking long and hard until 2024.
