The Shift to the Right on Abortion Access

The latest Gallup and Pew polls show that, for the first time, a majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life rather than pro-choice.

A considerable part of the shift is the result of younger voters apparently being more opposed to abortion access than in favor.

This isn’t much of a surprise. Things have been slowly shifting in this direction over the past few years and, if the truth must be told, the pro-life forces have done a better job of pitching their position than the pro-choice forces.

The primary reason for this is that the pro-life side has much better ammunition. It’s hard to not feel queasy about terminating what you can see in an ultra-sound projection. The secondary reason is that the main battle of the pro-choice side, feminism and woman’s rights, has essentially been won. No one considers it a major issue these days so abortion access, always a secondary issue in the feminist movement, no longer has the push behind it that it had in the 1970s.

Women take their rights for granted these days so they don’t consider the abortion access question a part of that rights pantheon.

I think that the abortion debate has also matured. Most people, including myself, would prefer abortion as a choice of last resort. Still, I stand by the assertion that making that choice is not up to me or a gaggle of politicians. Only the woman involved, with advice from her advisers, can make it.