Republicans nationwide are in a pickle over abortion, particularly in the House, and they’re getting precious little help from leadership, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the official campaign arm, or Donald Trump to figure a way out of it. The growing clamor over fertility treatments is making the issue even thornier for them.
The NRCC has refused to wade into the thickets with any kind of policy recommendations for Republicans defending their seats or candidates, the National Journal reports. Instead, the committee chair, Richard Hudson of North Carolina, has left them to sink or swim on the issue. Instead, the NRCC has told candidates to “confidently articulate” their views and to “stake out a clear position.” They’re also making sure they promote “empathy” for women and to advance “common sense” solutions.
The lack of direction from Hudson could also stem from his own leadership ambitions, “multiple” Republican sources told the National Journal. They “noted that Hudson may need to appeal to a wide range of opinions with the Republican Conference if he tries to run for a higher leadership post.” Hudson likely doesn’t want to make himself a target for the forced-birth movement, nor does he want to get embroiled in the mess the GOP has made for itself in the personhood debate over IVF.
The NRCC tried to shoot that down, with a “source familiar with the committee’s messaging” telling NJ that Hudson’s political ambitions don’t have anything to do with the failure to provide any kind of policy guidance. A committee spokesperson also tried to turn the tables.
“Democrats spent hundreds of millions of dollars lying about Republican candidates’ positions in 2022, but Republicans are not going to let Democrats lie any longer,” NRCC spokesman Jack Pandol told NJ.
Ahem. Yes, national bans are even in the budget proposed by the Republican Study Committee, which endorses a slew of extreme bills on abortion, including the Life at Conception Act, “which would provide 14th amendment protections at all stages of life.”
That’s that IVF kerfuffle coming back to bite them on their asses. The forced-birth movement is breathing down their necks to end IVF, energized by the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision that frozen embryos are people—a premise just endorsed by the majority of the Florida Supreme Court. That has ripped the GOP’s “pro-life” mask right off. It has shown just how deeply committed the movement is to subjugating women and interfering in the most intimate family decisions.
Republicans know that “empathy” for women and “nuance” cannot possibly be reconciled with calling IVF murder, the basic premise of these personhood arguments. Take Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins’ struggle, for example. How does he support IVF while at the same time supporting the personhood movement, the Daily Beast asked. “With difficulty,” Higgins answered. “I can’t honestly tell you I’ve invested myself properly to give you a solid answer, but generally, you know, I will always defend life from conception to natural death,” Higgins continued.
Higgins and every other Republican knows what deep trouble they’re in with the electorate. It’s in the polling and in the actual voting, even in Alabama!
No, they can’t look to their leadership, and they can’t look to Trump to bail them out on this one. Next week, he says, will be abortion week. That’s when he’ll announce his abortion platform. Like we haven’t heard that one before. You’re on your own, my dudes.
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