{"id":11,"date":"2024-12-06T22:37:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T22:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/?p=11"},"modified":"2025-05-08T21:21:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T21:21:03","slug":"left-plan-for-pro-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/06\/left-plan-for-pro-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Left of Pro-Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<p><em><strong>At issue:<\/strong> This is part of a letter I sent to a couple of family members who are pro-life and conservative. The objective was to  address the number one concern of women facing this difficult choice by proposing a better argument for pro-life from an economic progressive perspective. This article was written before the overturning of Roe v. Wade.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to share some thoughts on abortion policy and its intersection with politics, particularly in light of recent events, like Trump\u2019s appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By stacking the court with justices eager to overturn <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>, Trump bypasses Congress, concentrating policymaking into the hands of nine unelected individuals. This resembles a \u201cStar Chamber,\u201d accountable to no one. We saw the dangers of this approach in the <em>Citizens United<\/em> decision, which equated money in politics with freedom of expression\u2014empowering oligarchs at the expense of democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Polling since 1975 shows that a majority of Americans believe abortion should remain legal, though opinions vary on the circumstances. For 2018:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>29% believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>14% support legality under most circumstances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>35% believe it should be legal in limited circumstances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>18% think it should be illegal under all circumstances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While opinions are nuanced, it\u2019s clear that Trump\u2019s approach caters to a minority (the 18%) at the expense of democracy. Do we really want to undermine democratic institutions for a narrow ideological victory?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Left-Wing Alternative<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong>Abortion rates have declined since <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>, with economic circumstances cited as the leading reason for seeking abortions. If Democrats framed abortion as an issue of economic justice, they could argue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t eliminate abortion entirely\u2014it\u2019s the law of the land. But we can reduce it by supporting women in economic need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conservatives, by contrast, are unwilling to provide such support, branding it \u201cwelfare.\u201d This is why pro-life individuals should consider supporting left-wing candidates who prioritize policies that help struggling families. Imagine reducing abortion rates by 33% through comprehensive economic support\u2014helping mothers while preserving democratic institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Banning abortion won\u2019t make it go away. History shows that bans often lead to unsafe procedures or no decrease in numbers. True pro-life advocacy should focus on creating conditions where fewer women feel compelled to choose abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, overturning <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> is unlikely or it will be left to the States to decide. We may see a patchwork of state-level restrictions. Even GOP strategists know a complete ban would alienate voters and harm their party. Alabama, the most conservative state, won\u2019t stay that way forever. Urbanization and cultural change will inevitably shift the political map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we want meaningful progress, we must align our policies with compassion and practicality. Supporting families, preserving democracy, and reducing abortions through economic justice are values worth embracing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At issue: This is part of a letter I sent to a couple of family members who are pro-life and conservative. The objective was to address the number one concern of women facing this difficult choice by proposing a better argument for pro-life from an economic progressive perspective. This article was written before the overturning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4,6,5],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-abortion","tag-economic-progressive","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions\/270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}