Few Americans have any clue just how extreme most Republicans are when it comes to abortion. The other side likes to caterwaul about so-called partial-birth abortion—which isn’t really a thing—or so-called late-term abortions, which happen so rarely and under such extraordinary circumstances, it’s hard to imagine anyone with even a rudimentary heart could remain unmoved by the stories of the people who are compelled to get them.
All that makes sense, of course. No one is going to carry a fetus to full term, only to decide at the last minute that they’re just not feeling it anymore. Childbirth is not like a date with Donald Trump Jr.—only with slightly fewer opioids and marginally less unintelligible screaming. You can’t just back out the moment the surgical implements and ether make their first appearance.
If a woman is tragically forced to seek an abortion late in her pregnancy, it’s almost always because her life is in danger or the fetus is nonviable. But that’s just common sense. On the other hand, the horror stories liberals can—and most likely soon will—tell about the vile excesses of the forced-birther regime are real. And, well, horrific. In fact, many, many Republicans are so extreme on abortion, they’d force a 12-year-old child to give birth to her rapist’s baby. Even if, say, the fetus’ father was her uncle.
So it’s time to name and shame these fuckers. Just how far do they take this stuff? It’s one thing to say you’re against “late-term abortions,” as fake as that stance is. But what do they have to say about more problematic—and far less popular—abortion restrictions like, say, banning the termination of a pregnancy after just a few days or weeks?
Christina Reynolds, VP of Communications at EMILY's List, talks about spending $150 million to center abortion rights in this November’s elections on Daily Kos’ The Brief podcast.
Christopher Ingraham, a former Washington Post reporter who once wrote for the paper’s Wonkblog, makes a great point about the abortion rights bill Democrats recently put forward, and which just failed in the Senate, 49-51, with Sen. Joe Manchin joining every Republican in voting “no.”
The bill was going to fail regardless. Why not make Republicans feel just a bit more uneasy about their no votes? (If you don’t do Twitter, click here to read the unrolled thread.)
A robust majority of Americans already support upholding Roe v. Wade. And when the nuances of the abortion issue are explored by nonreptilians with normal human brains, they tend to agree that people facing difficult or life-threatening pregnancies—or who simply want to prevent a pregnancy with early intervention, such as a Plan B pill—should have reasonable access to reproductive health care.
Make these extremists go on record as opposing these things. Or make them go on record as supporting at least some forms of abortion. Either way, we win.
Come on, Democrats. As usual, we have the truth on our side. If we fumble this message, there’s no one left to pick up the ball and run with it—and we really will be consigning millions of Americans to a nightmare world where The Handmaid’s Tale is now a blueprint for the brave new world that’s about to smack us all upside the head.
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