CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– ABORTION RIGHTS
Aug. 27, 2008 – 8:23 p.m.
Anti-Abortion Faction Sees Common Ground
By Drew Armstrong, CQ Staff
Anti-abortion Democrats say they believe the 2008 national convention offers them a chance to make fellow party members view their issue in a different light.
The party remains staunchly pro-choice, but at least a Casey got on stage this year.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey spoke Tuesday on economic issues, but his speech included a one-line shout-out to anti-abortion Democrats: “ Barack Obama and I have an honest disagreement on the issue of abortion,” Casey said in his speech. “But the fact that I’m speaking here tonight is testament to Barack’s ability to show respect for the views of people who may disagree with him.”
Casey’s father, the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, was refused a speaking slot at the 1992 Democratic convention, specifically over his anti-abortion views.
Rep. Lincoln Davis , D-Tenn., said Casey’s moment, however brief, was a major milestone for bringing anti-abortion Democrats into a more inclusive party.
Officials from Democrats for Life of America point to the recent victories of a number of moderate Democrats as heralding a bigger tent for the party.
They cite the successes of moderate Democrats from GOP-leaning areas, including Casey, who won over conservative voting parts of the state, and Rep. Heath Shuler , D-N.C. Both were elected in 2006 at least partly on their ability to appeal to socially conservative voters. Rep. Don Cazayoux, D-La., another abortion opponent, won his seat in a 2008 special election in a traditionally GOP district.
Casey, Davis, Shuler and other anti-abortion Democrats attack the issue differently from their GOP counterparts, putting more emphasis on reducing the number of abortions and providing support for pregnant mothers to consider adoption rather than overturning Roe v. Wade.
The point, they say, is to create progress on the issue rather than using it for political leverage. “The important thing to me is that we solve the problem and stop bickering about it,” said Robert Tuke, a Democratic Senate nominee in Tennessee.
Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life, says she feels like Democrats are paying far more attention to her group’s views and cites the decision to let Casey speak at the convention as a victory.
“As pro-life Democrats, we differ on the legality of abortion in Roe v. Wade, but as a Democratic organization we’re looking for ways to work within our party and find a common ground,” said Day. “We believe that we’ve found the common ground on this.”
On Wednesday, her group held a town-hall-style discussion on how to push legislation offering support for pregnant women, with the goal of giving them options other than abortion. The group is also holding a “hall of fame” event to honor Davis.
Davis and Casey have introduced legislation (
Anti-Abortion Faction Sees Common Ground
‘Unequivocal Support’
The party platform language on abortion has been noticeably changed, but the spirit remains the same.
Inclusion of the language that Democrats support “ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre- and post-natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs” pleases pro-life Democrats.
But gone from the platform language is the phrase “safe, legal and rare.” Abortion rights advocates emphasize that reducing the need for abortions is a quite different thing from reducing the number of abortions and have pointed to the phrase as problematic, saying it places a moral judgment on women who have an abortion.
In an essay in Slate magazine, women’s rights activist Linda Hirshman recently wrote that the new platform language “offers an opportunity to put an end to this self-destructive cycle of Safe, Legal, and Rare, otherwise known as regret, depression, and self-denigration.”
And the first line in the plank is quite clear: The party “unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade.”
Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called the plank “unwavering in protecting a woman’s right to choose.”
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