Question about Bush's Policy on Abortion

[yardwork]

This is not a question about how people feel about abortion. I have a completely separate question - what is the deal with the White House policy?

BushCo got elected partly because he and lots of other Republicans promised to make abortion illegal in America. Well, what's the holdup?

Conservative Republicans control the White House, the Supreme Court, and both houses of Congress. Why haven't they tried to overturn Rove v. Wade? Why didn't they try to pass a Constitutional amendment against abortion?

My theory is that the Republicans have no intention of bringing this to a vote anytime soon. It would take away their best wedge issue. If abortion was outlawed in the U.S. a lot of people would have to look for other reasons to vote for BushCo and they might notice some glaring problems.

I think that the Republican stance on abortion is deeply hypocritical. They use it as a tool to sway the masses to vote for them, over and over again, election after election, while promising that success is "just around the corner."

I think we should start asking this question of people who support Bush on the basis of this one issue - and there are a lot of them. If abortion is such an important issue, why hasn't the White House done something about it during the past four years?

Hmmmmm?

[RobertSeattle]

1. Good analysis

Reagan talked a good game about abortion - then did nothing about it.

I think deep down the GOP knows that going hard against Roe-v-Wade is a loser, so they are doing this multi-decade incremental approach.

[lapfog_1]

2. Its much much easier

to place wingnuts on the SCOTUS and have THEM overturn Roe V. Wade
than it would be to pass an amendment. It the meantime, chip chip
chip away at it. Hence our contingent to UN conference on population
growth and our strings on the funding and so on.

[delhurgo]

3. Bush was not elected because people thought he

would make abortion illegal. He tried to downplay the issue during the election.

Conservatives do not control the Supreme Court, at least not on the abortion issue - thats what this election is really about though. Probably as many as 3 members will retire in the next pres term; a Rep Pres with a Rep, or even a split, Senate will have a rubber stamp to stack the court with social conservatives - thats important for way more than abortion though.

There's no agreement within the Republican party to attempt to outlaw abortion through a constitutional amendment, and there never will be. The religious right thinks this will happen, but it won't - the whole idea is just another way get votes.

Abortion is being used as a wedge issue to get religious right votes, but they really are serious about overturning Roe v Wade. It'll happen by making conservative appointments to the supreme court not by legislation. Although they have been chipping away little by little by further regulating it.

[noonwitch]

4. If they thought the USSC was in their favor, they'd outlaw abortion

As long as the current balance on the court exists, it would be fruitless to pass legislation that is destined to be overturned. Guys like Bush know that their women will always be able to pay a doctor into writing up an abortion as a regular D&C, if necessary. They don't care if poor women end up dying in back-alley abortions. It's their fault for getting pregnant, after all.

My cousin almost died from an illegal abortion in the late 60s. She had a total hysterectomy at age 35 due to complications from that procedure, and that probably wouldn't have been the case had she had the procedure done in a clean, legal clinic.

[forgethell]

5. The Supreme Court is

not on their side on this one. Why should they attempt to do something and waste their resources before they have an excellent chance of winning? that's more our style.