« Bad News on Groundhog Day | Main | Pre State of the Union 2005 »

Senate Priorities and Abortion

WHY NOT AN ANTI-ABORTION AMENDMENT? Here's an interesting question, posed by my friend Jon Rauch. The Senate Republicans have vowed to push their anti-gay marriage amendment, even though it won't stand a chance of getting the necessary 67 votes. The point is political and rhetorical. They are trying to build momentum, raise money, and keep the cause of banning same-sex unions alive. So why not push an anti-abortion amendment instead? They have one such amendment on hand. Both proposed amendments are allegedly against judicial meddling. Both will fail. But one deals with a much graver issue, by the religious right's reckoning - an immense loss of human life, rather than the grave evil of two human beings committing to one another for life. So why this priority? Surely, abortion is a more important matter than same-sex marriage - even for the religious right. Or is it? - Andrew Sullivan, HT: InTheAgora

The American Mind answers that it is all about politics.

Same-sex marriage is a very recent issue. The infrastructure to fight it is still unformed. A push for a same-sex constitutional amendment over a pro-life amendment is a tool to form that opposition. So while neither amendment has a chance of passing the Senate the same-sex marriage one would send a stronger message by rallying the masses.

Unfortunately, I think this is probably the correct reason for the current Senate priorities. When public perception, politics and pragmatism drive legislation, priorities change because principles change. What this means is that the battles over abortion will be waged on legislation aimed at regulating rather than banning and a battle line will be drawn on the issue of gay marriage. Is this progress for Christian conservatives?

BlindMindsEye has more from Romans 1.

Posted by tim at February 2, 2005 7:57 AM

Articles Related to Abortion:

Obama's Support for Partial Birth Abortion - Oct 25, 2006
March for Life - Next Monday!!! - Jan 21, 2006
Urging Churches to Talk About Abortion - Jan 05, 2006
Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito and Roe v Wade - Oct 31, 2005
Support the Right to Life Act 2005 - Oct 25, 2005
UK Considers Embryo Screening for Cancer - Aug 15, 2005
Aborting the Viable Beyond 23 Weeks - Jul 25, 2005
Aborted Babies Sold for Beauty Treatments? - May 27, 2005
Bush Administration will Protect Abortion Survivors - Apr 23, 2005
Russian Abortion Killing and Sterilizing Millions; Demographic Collapse Likely to be Worse than Previously Predicted - Apr 13, 2005

Comments

I think that religious/social conservatives need to be made aware that they are getting snow-jobbed and that the Republicans could be made to serve them more effectively rather than stringing them along.

I write to this effect at my blog, The Anti-Manicheist.

dlw

Posted by: dlw at February 2, 2005 6:40 PM