Abortion Wins, Republicans Lose: Have You Figured That Out Yet, Guys? No? Really?

Also, helpful hint to GOP: Lying, cheating, and trying to mislead voters is not popular with voters

The election results are in for November 7, 2023, and guess what? Abortion won. Republicans lost.

The only consequential race that the Democrat candidate lost (the race for governor of Mississippi) was where both the Democrat Presley and the Republican Reeves supported an abortion ban. Gee, Presley, what if instead of running on your famous relative Elvis, you had run on an issue that is a no-brainer winner?! Gee, I wonder…

To paraphrase the famous James Carville quote: “It’s abortion, stupid!”

The Republican Party is officially insane and politically suicidal because the definition of insanity is to “do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.”

Guess what? People — women, men, trans, nonbinary, you name it — were mad as hell about the Dobbs ruling and continue to vote accordingly

Since the Dobbs decision by SCOTUS, which declared that the health, safety, and welfare of those with a uterus is not protected by the Constitution, what has happened?

Six states had the issue of abortion on the ballot in some form and in every single case abortion won. California, Montana, Kansas, Kentucky, Vermont, Michigan. Now add Ohio, of all places, to the list. Abortion is seven for seven. More to come in 2024.
In 2022, Democrats gained full control of Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer won by fighting hard on abortion rights. The State House and Senate in Michigan went to Democrat control. Gee, I wonder why? (Rhetorical question, as you know the answer: Abortion!)
The 2022 imagined “red wave” of Republicans — that all the residents of Earth 2 over on Fox News were so certain of — turned into a tiny little dribble. Instead of gaining something like 40 seats in the House of Representatives as the GOP would have under normal (sane) circumstances, they instead just squeaked out a five-seat majority. Gee, I wonder why?
Protasiewicz won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving it a liberal majority. Gee, I wonder why?

I could list more, but you get the idea.

Republican answer: Let’s do it all again!

So, what was the scathingly brilliant idea of Republicans in 2023?

Run a candidate for governor of Kentucky who supports banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest!
Governor Youngkin of Virginia, certain that Republicans would sweep the races for Virginia’s Senate and House of Delegates, declared that he would then propose legislation for a 15-week abortion ban.

Guess what happened?

Democrat Andy Beshear won as governor of Kentucky with a comfortable margin because he opposed such an extreme abortion ban with no exceptions.

In Virginia, Youngkin, who was going to have such a huge win (said pundits over on Earth 2) that he might even jump into the presidential race, is now licking his wounds. Democrats not only retained control of the Senate, but, to the shock and surprise of (male) pundits, Democrats also took control of the House of Delegates. Poor superstar GOP savior Youngkin; he took a big faceplant. Why? Abortion!!!

Can’t win democratically, so… try a little chicanery maybe?

Republicans do know that abortion is a losing issue for them. However, democracy is also not something they support these days anyway. So, of course, they also tried to lie, cheat, and steal their way to defeating abortion rights.

Virginia tried purging voter rolls. They initially announced it was only about 270 people who had been purged, no big deal. It turned out, the number was closer to 3,400 legally eligible voters had been erroneously purged from the voter rolls. Nice try, Youngkin. These voters were supposed to have been put back on the rolls for this election, but it certainly confused some of those voters who had tried to vote early and discovered to their great surprise they were off the voter rolls.

Ohio Republicans had tried to increase the vote total necessary to amend their constitution to 60% instead of a simple majority. Why? Because they know a majority of people support the right to abortion! Therefore, they tried to rig the game. That didn’t work.

Failing to rig the game, Republicans then tried lies and deception. Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, an abortion opponent, put false and misleading language in how the amendment appeared on the ballot.

Here are the facts: The amendment states that abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability, but may still be permitted if a physician feels the procedure is necessary to protect the health of the mother or save the life of the mother.

Here is what LaRose did with the language of the summary on the ballot:

LaRose’s summary turned that section on its head. It now says the amendment would “always allow an unborn child to be aborted at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability…”

That is inflammatory anti-abortion propaganda language, including the nonsense term “unborn child.”

Nice try, Republicans. However, Ohio voters were not stupid enough to fall for your disingenuous attempt at some Jedi mind trick.

The issue is not what week a pregnancy occurs

Speaking of Jedi mind tricks, Governor Youngkin was trying to frame his 15-week abortion ban as the “reasonable compromise.”

No. It is not.

There is one thing that Republicans have been very successful at, and that is how they keep the focus on what week of pregnancy an abortion occurs and framing it in those terms. That is not the issue.

Here is the issue with restrictions on abortion: The underlying assumption is that women and doctors cannot be trusted. That is what an abortion ban at X weeks says. It is lawmakers saying, “We don’t trust women and we don’t trust doctors, so we get to take charge of your uterus just because we want to. We get our way, and you and your doctor don’t, so both of you need to just sit down and shut up.”

That is what the abortion debate is actually about. That is why I and other abortion rights activists will not accept any “week” you offer us, because the bottom line is that you are disrespecting us, and we will not stand for it.

Republicans with their propaganda keep insisting that what Democrats and abortion rights activists want is for a woman to be able to choose to have an abortion the day before she is to give birth.

That does not happen! It has never happened! No woman after suffering through eight months of pregnancy, now in the ninth month, wakes up one day, stretches, yawns, has her cup of coffee, and then says to herself, “Hmmm, you know what? I think I’ve changed my mind. I think I’m going to call my doc, schedule an abortion this afternoon and get rid of this thing. And then maybe I’ll go and get my hair done.”

That does not happen!

That is why setting a “week” for when abortion is okay and when it is not okay is profoundly insulting to women. It is also profoundly insulting to OB/GYN physicians.

Here are the facts. Late-term abortions are extremely rare. One hundred percent of them occur for one reason and one reason only: Health concerns, either regarding the fetus or the mother. Abortions after 21 weeks account for 1% of abortions.

Yet radical anti-abortion propagandists speak of things like “partial-birth abortions” and “dismemberment” and “born-alive” abortions. They even declare abortions occur after birth!

Youngkin says he chose 15 weeks because that is when the “unborn child can feel pain.”

All lies! I don’t know if these people have heard of this thing called “science” but according to science: Lies!

That “15” number is just a random lottery number you pulled out of your damn red MAGA hat.

We need to stop letting them get away with this rhetorical garbage, and we need to center the issue back where it belongs, right in the lap of women and doctors. Members of legislatures and their random numbers pulled out of a hat are not invited to sit in our laps!

The language of the Ohio amendment to their constitution is a model to follow. It never mentions any “week.” I quote it here at length because this is what must eventually be the law across the entire nation.

A. Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: contraception; fertility treatment; continuing one’s own pregnancy; miscarriage care; and abortion.

B. The State shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either: An individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or; A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.

However, abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health. (emphasis added)

That is entirely reasonable. That respects the individual autonomy of people with a uterus. That respects the knowledge, wisdom, and good intentions of doctors.

Those are all the things that the current Republican Party does not do.

And that is why abortion wins and Republicans lose.

Care to do this again in 2024, GOP?