The Enlightenment

Image Courtesy of Angela Major/Wisconsin Public Radio

On June 23^rd, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the federal right to an abortion. In doing so, the Court overturned almost 50 years of precedent—and spawned a huge wave of backlash.

            Republican politicians, who normally oppose the right to an abortion, were suddenly painted as extremists and put on the defensive. State constitutional amendments meant to ban abortion were defeated again and again, including in the ultra-conservative state of Kansas, where an amendment banning abortion was defeated by almost 20 points.

            Bearing witness to the tremendous success of pro-abortion politics, the Democrats have gone all-in on the issue. Whereas then-Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that abortion was “fading” as an issue in 2017, Democrats since 2022 use every opportunity they can to declare their undying support for a woman’s right to choose.

            I remain skeptical. Don’t get me wrong: I support abortion. But for all its bluster, abortion activism has shown itself to be limited in scope and energy. And I have a bridge to sell the Democrats if they truly believe that they will be able to continue to ride on the rapidly waning momentum of pro-abortion politics to win elections.

            When we compare abortion activism since 2022, we find it produces very few offshoots compared to other protest movements, both contemporaneously and historically. The Black Lives Matter Protests of 2020 spawned mutual aid societies to organize neighborhoods and brought reparations onto the national stage. The labor movement in the 30’s and 40’s led to the Civil Rights Movement in the 50’s and 60’s.

            In comparison, what have the abortion protests brought forward? Nothing. Abortion politics has not created a new feminist movement, or brought issues like women’s work, sexual violence, or pay disparities to the forefront. The pro-abortion movement has remained a fiercely insular movement, interested only in the procurement of abortion and no more. Women have been mobilized by a loss in abortion rights, but this activist energy disbands if and when rights are restored rather than carrying on to a broader struggle as is common with other movements.

            This is a real shame because the abortion struggle has choked the oxygen out of the movement for many vital feminist issues, like paid childcare, guaranteed maternity leave, and wage gaps; issues that would lead to fewer abortions being desirable or necessary in the first place.

           From a progressive perspective, abortion is not a particularly wide-ranging or comprehensive issue. Many women have an abortion because they are in poverty. Abortion will prevent the further immiseration of the woman, but does nothing to lift her out of poverty. And though abortion is a very common procedure, the vast majority of women will never have an abortion in their lifetime. On the other hand, nearly every woman will have to sell their labor to an employer sometime during their lifetime, and suffer pay disparities and sexual harassment as a result.

            Furthermore, Democrats are making a big mistake going all-in on abortion. Many women, particularly younger women, find abortion to be an important issue to them, but this has been fading for a while. The economy still ranks as the number one issue on voters’ minds, as with most elections. Even if voters hold abortion in high regard, there may be other issues that are even more important to them. Leveraging abortion was a good strategy in 2022 for Democrats, but it won’t be going forward.

            It’s time to stop worshipping abortion politics. It hasn’t created movement energy, it’s taking energy away from other issues, and it’s leading Democrats into a politically calamitous trap. Let’s strive to make abortion an important topic, but not at the cost of everything else.