Last year, every Democrat in Congress, except for one in the House and one in the Senate, voted for HR 3755 which would make abortion legal for any reason before the child can survive outside the womb (around 22 weeks). Further along in a pregnancy, abortion would be legal if any abortion services provider deems that “Continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.” In effect, this would mean there are no limits on late-term abortions because courts have ruled that emotional and financial concerns are included as “health” reasons. In addition, the bill guarantees that a woman should have the abortion paid for by her private insurance or the government.
However, the passage of this extreme abortion bill by Democrats and the presence of only two pro-life Democrats across both houses of Congress do not reflect the opinion even of self-proclaimed Democrats. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, 26% of Democrats identified as pro-life and 41% said abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances. A 2022 Marist poll showed that 3 in 10 Democrats oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortion.
What accounts for this discrepancy? Pro-choice activists have gained more power within the party and become more extreme. It’s a similar story on many issues. As more money has come into politics, groups that can raise money have more influence. Even before Roe was overturned, in May of this year, three pro-choice groups vowed to spend $150 million in the midterm elections.
[I interviewed former Rep. Lipinski twice while guest hosting on Relevant Radio. We disagree on some issues, and are relatively in range on others. The fact that the middle on abortion has no room in his party any longer is a sign of Democrats’ accelerating extremism. The fact that this has not had significant consequences in elections is a suggestion that Republicans may be having similar problems accommodating the middle, and/or are too incompetent to capitalize on Democrat extremism. I suspect it may be both, especially after last year’s poor candidate recruitment for midterm Senate races. — Ed]
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