Midterm for the Worse, Part I: Fetus Do Yo’ Stuff!

Taki Mag ^ | November 15, 2022 | David Cole

[Zhang Fei]

But here’s what they can’t get around, here’s where pro-lifers have no answer: There were seven—seven—ballot measures where abortion was in one way or another on the line. And in all cases pro-life lost. The right to abortion was enshrined in the state constitutions of California (no surprise), Vermont (ditto), and Michigan (that’s bad news). Red Kentucky defeated a sweeping antiabortion measure, and red Montana defeated a bill mandating that doctors provide lifesaving measures to babies born alive during the procedure (pro-lifers surely thought that would be an easy win; instead they got a painful loss).

In red Arkansas, a measure to mandate a supermajority for future ballot initiatives—which opponents slammed as a sneaky attempt to prevent pro-choicers from using ballot measures to liberalize the state’s abortion laws—failed. And in red Alaska, a measure to hold a state constitutional convention fell, 30 percent yes to 70 percent no. To be clear, this measure is on the ballot every ten years, and it always fails. But this year proponents were like, “Hey—with Roe gone we can use the convention to put an antiabortion clause in our constitution!” and the measure failed harder than it did ten years ago (40 percent yes to 60 percent no in 2012).

So even though the measure always fails, when proponents cast it as a way to outlaw abortion, it failed worse.

California, Vermont, swing state Michigan, red Kentucky, red Montana, red Arkansas, red Alaska. Add the antiabortion ballot measure in red Kansas that failed in August, and that’s a clean sweep—eight overwhelming pro-life failures in red states, blue states, and swing states.

Following the election, pro-life leaders told Politico that they’re abandoning “popular vote” ballot initiatives as a strategy (as pro-choice leaders said the opposite; they’ll be ramping up their use of such initiatives).

[Zhang Fei]

Author predicts that pro-life leaders will push harder for a Federal law outlawing abortion nationally, with collateral effects for GOP pols at the Federal level.

[kaktuskid]

Time for killin’ some more American babies, while lettin’ those illegal ones in!

[knarf]

DIDDLE UT, DIDDLE UT, DIDDLE UT, DIDDLE UT, DIDDLE UT . . . .

THE ENTIRE CONCEPT AND SCIENCE REGARDING CLONING IS THAT IT CAN BE DONE WITH ONE . . . . I REPEAT . . . .ONE, HUMAN CELL !

[A_perfect_lady]

I really don't understand their resistance to the "born alive" part. I understand all the my body, my choice stuff, but once that baby is out... it's not her body anymore! It's a separate person now, and you can give it up for adoption or something, walk away, whatever. You're free now. Take the win and don't say, "No, I want it DEAD." That's freaky.

[Jim Noble]

I’m sure a Born Alive Protection Act could pass, WOULD pass - but only once first trimester abortion was legalized.

Both sides in the abortion wars misunderstood the role of Roe v. Wade. But the pro-life community seriously failed to grasp that first trimester abortion was popular - very popular, and that once the representatives who cynically voted for “trigger laws”, secure in the belief that they never would be activated had to face reality, that the opposition would GAIN, not LOSE, political power.

[Paul R.]

From what I saw and heard (KY, AR) the pro-life side did a HORRIBLE job of countering the distortions and outright lies from the pro-murder side. Plus the ads were at least 5:1 against pro-life.

But, I’m “with you” when it comes to the Montana vote. What on earth was the pro-murder (and CLEARLY pro-murder) argument? We are appalled by mass shootings and school shootings and don’t see the connection from a populace unwilling to protect a baby once out of the womb...? Ugh!