Zincwarrior
Diamond Member
Support is growing on the right to fully prosecute women seeking abortions. Thoughts USMB?
Support is growing on the right to fully prosecute women seeking abortions.
www.nytimes.com
Sentiment is shifting amid frustration in the antiabortion movement that more abortions are happening now than when Roe v. Wade fell.
In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the antiabortion movement has been largely unified around a core idea: Women who get the procedure should be spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
But a growing number of conservative leaders are starting to argue that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies could be to arrest them.
The shift is coming as activists express frustration that the number of abortions happening now is higher than when Roe v. Wade was overturned, largely because of the growing availability of abortion pills even in states where the procedure is banned.
Today, the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, a group of more than 60 conservative influencers, antiabortion leaders, and pastors signed a petition to remove the “legal immunities” that have protected women who get abortions from prosecution.
That follows a vote earlier this month by delegates to the Texas Republican Party’s state convention to endorse repealing the legal protections that exempt women who get abortions from criminal penalties, a move solidified by a thunderous voice vote on the convention floor.
At the same time, the largest antiabortion group in Texas is formulating an idea to test the political waters on the issue. It is proposing to target a narrow slice of women, those with medical licenses, by threatening to revoke their licenses if they are caught taking abortion pills.
“In the last four years, our attitude has lightened a little bit because we are looking at the scope of the problem,” said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, the group floating the idea to target patients with medical licenses. “I want for it not to be taboo to ask, ‘What is the accountability for these women?’”
So far, the shift has been mostly rhetorical, with few indications that Republican leaders in any of the roughly two dozen states that have banned all or most abortions are prepared to roll back provisions that protect women from prosecution. Recent legislative efforts to impose criminal penalties for women have failed to advance in multiple states, including Texas.
Nonetheless, the brewing debate is exposing divisions among conservatives and creating a dilemma for some G.O.P. candidates in this year’s midterms. Many Republicans are under pressure from antiabortion activists to address the issue of abortion pills, but supporting the prosecution of women who get abortions could stir a backlash from the broader electorate.
In Texas, Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate who has long made his opposition to abortion a core part of his political identity, has been silent on the issue, even as he broke with another position adopted by the state party last week condemning in vitro fertilization. Mr. Paxton did not respond to a request for comment.
Image
Shifting attitudes among conservatives on criminalization could add to the pressure on the Trump administration, which has already faced criticism from some on the right for not doing more to halt the flow of abortion pills.
The rise in the number of women ending their pregnancies, including in states where abortion has been illegal since Roe fell, was highlighted in a report published this month by the Society of Family Planning. In states with abortion bans, nearly all abortions were provided via telehealth under “shield laws” passed in Democrat-led states, which provide protections for doctors who mail abortion pills.
Vice President JD Vance mentioned during a podcast appearance last week that he had been hearing from the “abortion abolition movement,” using the label adopted by some activists pushing for women to be prosecuted for having abortions. Mr. Vance hinted at the potential peril for Republicans in expressing opposition to the idea, saying that “we can’t be immune to the realities of modern politics.”
Some leaders in the national antiabortion movement are working behind the scenes to build a coalition willing to support the idea of criminally charging women who get abortions. A group called “The White Rose Resistance,” led by the antiabortion activist Seth Gruber, has been circulating the petition toward that end. The list of signatories published today includes prominent influencers and podcast hosts such as Allie Beth Stuckey, Riley Gaines and Alex Clark.
“We call upon lawmakers to remove legal immunities that allow the intentional killing of preborn children to continue, and to enact laws that provide full and equal protection under the law from violence and destruction, from the moment of fertilization,” reads the petition.
Support is growing on the right to fully prosecute women seeking abortions.
Support Builds on the Right for Prosecuting Women Who Get Abortions
Sentiment is shifting amid frustration in the antiabortion movement that more abortions are happening now than when Roe v. Wade fell.
Sentiment is shifting amid frustration in the antiabortion movement that more abortions are happening now than when Roe v. Wade fell.
In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the antiabortion movement has been largely unified around a core idea: Women who get the procedure should be spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
But a growing number of conservative leaders are starting to argue that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies could be to arrest them.
The shift is coming as activists express frustration that the number of abortions happening now is higher than when Roe v. Wade was overturned, largely because of the growing availability of abortion pills even in states where the procedure is banned.
Today, the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, a group of more than 60 conservative influencers, antiabortion leaders, and pastors signed a petition to remove the “legal immunities” that have protected women who get abortions from prosecution.
That follows a vote earlier this month by delegates to the Texas Republican Party’s state convention to endorse repealing the legal protections that exempt women who get abortions from criminal penalties, a move solidified by a thunderous voice vote on the convention floor.
At the same time, the largest antiabortion group in Texas is formulating an idea to test the political waters on the issue. It is proposing to target a narrow slice of women, those with medical licenses, by threatening to revoke their licenses if they are caught taking abortion pills.
“In the last four years, our attitude has lightened a little bit because we are looking at the scope of the problem,” said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, the group floating the idea to target patients with medical licenses. “I want for it not to be taboo to ask, ‘What is the accountability for these women?’”
So far, the shift has been mostly rhetorical, with few indications that Republican leaders in any of the roughly two dozen states that have banned all or most abortions are prepared to roll back provisions that protect women from prosecution. Recent legislative efforts to impose criminal penalties for women have failed to advance in multiple states, including Texas.
Nonetheless, the brewing debate is exposing divisions among conservatives and creating a dilemma for some G.O.P. candidates in this year’s midterms. Many Republicans are under pressure from antiabortion activists to address the issue of abortion pills, but supporting the prosecution of women who get abortions could stir a backlash from the broader electorate.
In Texas, Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate who has long made his opposition to abortion a core part of his political identity, has been silent on the issue, even as he broke with another position adopted by the state party last week condemning in vitro fertilization. Mr. Paxton did not respond to a request for comment.
Image
Shifting attitudes among conservatives on criminalization could add to the pressure on the Trump administration, which has already faced criticism from some on the right for not doing more to halt the flow of abortion pills.
The rise in the number of women ending their pregnancies, including in states where abortion has been illegal since Roe fell, was highlighted in a report published this month by the Society of Family Planning. In states with abortion bans, nearly all abortions were provided via telehealth under “shield laws” passed in Democrat-led states, which provide protections for doctors who mail abortion pills.
Vice President JD Vance mentioned during a podcast appearance last week that he had been hearing from the “abortion abolition movement,” using the label adopted by some activists pushing for women to be prosecuted for having abortions. Mr. Vance hinted at the potential peril for Republicans in expressing opposition to the idea, saying that “we can’t be immune to the realities of modern politics.”
Some leaders in the national antiabortion movement are working behind the scenes to build a coalition willing to support the idea of criminally charging women who get abortions. A group called “The White Rose Resistance,” led by the antiabortion activist Seth Gruber, has been circulating the petition toward that end. The list of signatories published today includes prominent influencers and podcast hosts such as Allie Beth Stuckey, Riley Gaines and Alex Clark.
“We call upon lawmakers to remove legal immunities that allow the intentional killing of preborn children to continue, and to enact laws that provide full and equal protection under the law from violence and destruction, from the moment of fertilization,” reads the petition.
