Riding Abortion to Victory

The Dobbs decision upended last November’s election. Democrats successfully rallied their pro-abortion core and apparently convinced a lot of swing voters to turn out in favor of abortion. In Minnesota, where I live, abortion was the decisive issue that allowed the Democrats to sweep the Minnesota House, the Minnesota Senate (by a single vote) and the governorship.

Democrats apparently think there are more victories to be won by promoting unrestricted abortion. Breitbart reports:

A Democrat political committee centered on state legislatures is creating an affiliated non-profit which is set to launch a pro-abortion ad campaign in Virginia, “an early example of Democrats continuing to lean into the issue after a strong midterm performance,” Politico reported on Monday.

The Democrats’ plan is to attack any reasonable restriction on abortions as “extreme.”

“The new ad, which comes from the State Democracy Action Fund, raises the possibility of an abortion ban in the state, according to details shared first with POLITICO. ‘Will Virginia pass an extreme abortion ban?’ the ad’s narrator asks, before attacking GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin and ‘extremist lawmakers’ for wanting to ban abortion in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy,” according to the report.

The 15-week proposal is what generally prevails in the more liberal European countries. There is nothing “extreme” about it.

The Democrats, on the other hand, want to go far beyond most voters’ views on the issue, if you believe the polls. Thus, for example, the Minnesota House and Senate have passed, on party line votes, the “PRO Act.” The PRO Act is short and simple: it provides an absolute right to abortion up to the moment of birth. I suppose we should be grateful it doesn’t permit fourth-trimester abortion.

But wait! There is a second bill working its way through Minnesota’s legislature that apparently would legalize killing babies that have been born alive. SF 70, among other provisions, repeals a long list of statutes, most of which relate in some way to abortion. Among the laws to be repealed is this one:

145.415 LIVE FETUS AFTER ABORTION, TREATMENT.

Subdivision 1. Recognition. A potentially viable fetus which is live born following an attempted abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person under the law.

Subd. 2. Medical care. If an abortion of a potentially viable fetus results in a live birth, the responsible medical personnel shall take all reasonable measures, in keeping with good medical practice, to preserve the life and health of the live born person.

I assume this bill will soon become law, too, as the Democrats are caught up in a wave of euphoria over abortion. Will they really be able to ride the issue to new and greater electoral victories? I don’t know. I am pretty sure most people disapprove of abortion up to the moment of birth, and a large majority certainly don’t favor infanticide. But, given the bizarre manner in which the press reports on matters relating to abortion, perhaps only the hard core Democrats who thirst for ever more abortions will understand how extreme these laws really are.

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