The resounding loss of No. 1 on the statewide ballot in Ohio is rightly seen as a repudiation of pro-life forces and a cause for soul-searching in the movement.
The initiative, which would raise the number of votes required to amend the state constitution, has been understood to address abortion because a resolution to amend the state constitution to secure abortion “rights” is expected to pass in November.
The measure was rejected 57% to 43% in the state where Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden in 2020, 53.3% to 45.2%.
A year ago, voters in Kansas, a state where Trump defeated Biden by 56.1% to 41.5%, rejected a bill to amend the state constitution to ban abortion (59% to 41%).
The unpopularity of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, was one explanation for Republicans’ disappointing performance in the 2022 congressional elections.
Currently, abortion is legal in 26 states and is prohibited at various levels in the remaining states.
According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll of people who say their views on abortion have changed over the past year, 23% say they are more supportive of legal abortion and 6% are less supportive.
Pro-abortion activists plan more initiatives in states where abortion is banned.
The Dobbs decision was not about the moral acceptability of abortion. It was about the Constitution. The decision, written by Samuel Alito, rejected the Roe v. Wade assumption that the U.S. Constitution protects the right to abortion.
“The Constitution makes no mention of abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any provision of the Constitution,” Alito wrote.
If Congress does not act to pass federal abortion legislation, the issue will be turned over to the states.
It seems that the post-Dobbs pro-abortion forces were more energetic than the pro-life forces.
In response to the question, according to Gallup: “Will you only vote for a candidate who shares your views on abortion?” 17% of abortion supporters answered “yes” and 10% of pro-life supporters answered “yes”.
Overall, according to the Gallup poll, public sentiment has become more tolerant of abortion over time.
34% of women, up from 21% in 1975, believe abortion should be legal under all circumstances.
By trimester, 69% now believe abortion should be legal in the first trimester compared to 64% in 1996. In the second trimester, 37% believe abortion should be legal compared to 26% in 1996. In contrast, in the third trimester: 22% now believe abortion should be legal compared to 13% in 1996.
What’s particularly troubling is that among Democrats, 44% believe abortion should be legal in the third trimester.
We may have different opinions on the key issue of abortion: when does life begin?
But in the last trimester, the situation is crystal clear.
It is estimated that with proper care, the chance of survival of a premature baby at 25-26 weeks of pregnancy is 80%. At 32 weeks it is 95%.
However, 44% of Democrats believe abortion should be legal during this period. This means that for them it is okay to destroy a living, sentient child. I think it’s called murder.
Certainly the same Democrats, left-wing citizens who see no problem with abortion, are outraged by the fact that slavery was once allowed in our country.
But just as slavery showed something infirmed in our national soul, so does legal abortion.
And just as slavery harmed the nation, so does abortion.
It shows the decline of the individual understanding of good and evil, and, consequently, personal responsibility.
As a result, the government is increasingly being asked to pay for the damage caused by broken families, the decline of marriages and the development of a culture of selfishness.
I think our Republican candidates need to be more focused and aggressive in discussing abortion as a symptom of a broader cultural crisis in the country.
Our fiscal bankruptcy and moral bankruptcy go hand in hand.
