This past weekend marked the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the historic U.S. Supreme Court case that made state laws banning abortion illegal. Abortion rights and anti-abortion groups had their respective celebratory and protest marches. This, of course, is to be expected. People feel very strongly about the issue. On Monday an anti-abortion display was set up on campus. I expected this too. What surprised me was who set it up.
The College Republicans. I couldn’t believe it. Private groups like Oregon Right to Life donated their materials, according to Chairman Anthony Warren. These materials included “Precious Feet” lapel pins and the plastic 1995 fetal model from Heritage House, a for-profit Arizona company that specializes in material like this. These two organizations obviously take a clear stance on abortion, but the Republican party does not. No matter how you feel about abortion, the true crime here is the politicization of it.
The Republican party does not have an exclusive stake on the anti-abortion side. There are plenty of Democrats and members of other parties who don’t agree with Roe v. Wade; in fact, overturning the landmark case isn’t even on the Republican agenda. In the official platform of the Grand Old Party, the issue shows up under the “protect our families” section in the “culture of life” sub-head. It is farther down on the list than protecting the sanctity of marriage.
But I digress. My point is that the Republican stance on abortion is clear: “We oppose abortion, but our pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion,” according to the party’s 2004 campaign platform. They couldn’t be any clearer. They have no ambition to ever outlaw abortion.
This is what makes me so sad when I see the College Republicans setting up an anti-abortion display. They take materials from organizations of people who truly believe they might have a chance of changing the law in their favor, knowing full well that their political party has no ambition to help them. Anti-abortion activists are often single-issue voters, and the Republican Party has completely exploited them.
This is recent too. Before George H. W. Bush became Ronald Reagan’s running mate, he was for abortion rights. He and Barbara fully supported family planning. But when Reagan clobbered him in the primaries and then begrudgingly asked him to be his running mate, he had to change sides to solidify the message. It was as simple as that. Politically, H.W. was anti-choice, but can you really believe Reagan convinced him to change his heart on the issue, too?
Which is why the politicization of abortion is so ridiculous. It is not a political issue. It is a personal, private issue that really has no place in public discussion. It has been used by the neocons as a vote-grabbing tool, and it has worked wonders. This is part of the reason Roe v. Wade will never be overturned. If it were, then the Republicans would lose all those single-issue voters. Even worse, another party (think Democrats) would pick up the same issue and use the abortion rights people in the same way.
Just like gay marriage, abortion is an issue people feel strongly about, but they would feel the same way no matter what their political affiliation is. This is the reason gay marriage initiatives were on the ballot of so many swing states during the 2004 presidential election. Get the people out to vote against something they think is gross, and while they’re there, get them to vote for the candidate who is so staunchly anti-gross.
The trouble with this practice is the ripple effect. Since the Republican’s choose to align themselves with fanatics, the policy execution is fanatic as well. Since they really don’t want to do anything about the legality of abortion, the next easiest way to appease the voter is to be anti-sex. This ends up being completely counter-intuitive to the entire abortion issue.
The Bush administration advocates abstinence only sex education, which is about the biggest oxymoron I’ve ever heard. If kids don’t know anything about sex except how not to have it, they’ll be less likely to take all the precautions against STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Ignorance is not a contraceptive.
What’s more, political pressure prevented the morning after pill, or Plan B, from being available over the counter. Even though the FDA’s own doctors recommended that it was safe enough to be available, it was shelved indefinitely. How many unwanted pregnancies, and subsequent abortions, could have been prevented had the drug gotten over-the-counter approval?
If anti-abortion activists really want to stop abortion, they should ditch the Republicans and team up with groups like Planned Parenthood that will advocate for sex ed, and Barr Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Plan B – which can prevent pregnancy 89 percent of the time when taken after unprotected sex. These are two effective ways we can prevent abortions. Telling people not to have sex is probably the least effective way.
So whether you are for abortion rights, anti-abortion or undecided, think about whom you consider your allies. Do you really share the same agenda, or are you stuck in a (no sex before) marriage of convenience?
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