Page-turning in abortion history

Are we going backward or forward? For fear that the Supreme Court’s partial birth abortion ban this year might somehow drive society back to discrimination and oppression and other horrible consequences, liberal activists swung into high gear to get control of the nation’s laws, every which way they could.

Key to their agenda was Sen. Barack Obama.

In late April 2007, Senator Obama, along with Senator Hillary Clinton and others, immediately re-introduced the federal Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a radical attempt to enshrine abortion-on-demand into American law, to sweep aside existing laws that the majority of Americans support– such as requirements that licensed physicians perform abortions, fully-informed consent, and parental involvement– and to prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

More importantly, FOCA is a cynical attempt to prematurely end the debate over abortion and declare “victory” in the face of mounting evidence that (a) the American public does not support the vast majority of abortions being performed in the U.S. each year and (b) abortion has a substantial negative impact on women.

Thirty-five years after Roe, abortion supporters, like Senator Obama, are dismayed that abortion remains a divisive issue and that their radical agenda has not been submissively accepted by the American public.  In an address to Planned Parenthood last summer, Senator Obama indicated that he is “absolutely convinced that culture wars (including the on-going debate over abortion) are “so nineties,” and that it is “time to turn the page” since he and other abortion supporters are “tired about arguing about the same ole’ stuff.”

That’s intended to be a conversation-stopper. It hasn’t worked.