With the eyes of American women upon them, Republicans are once again in danger of sending the national conversation about reproductive health spiraling out of control and putting the party at risk in the November election.
This issue was thrust back into the center of national debate when a ruling from the conservative-dominated Alabama Supreme Court threatened to shut down in-vitro fertilization clinics in the state, denying a chance at parenthood to Alabamians who’ve worked hard (and spent significant amounts of money) for the chance to conceive a child.
The ruling was reminiscent of the one against Kate Cox, a mother of two from Texas, late last year, who was ultimately refused permission by the Texas Supreme Court to end a nonviable pregnancy in her home state.
The Alabama and Texas Supreme Courts failed scores of would-be parents in their states. But this goes beyond two state court rulings. Countless American women have been failed by a conservative movement and Republican Party that doesn’t know how to talk about — much less deliver solutions for — their genuine healthcare concerns.
This has been a consistent problem for years, but has gotten markedly worse in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The Roe compromise, in place for a half-century, was far from perfect. For instance, it was read by many as potentially allowing for abortion up to the moment of birth, which far-left legislators took advantage of in order to loosen restrictions on late-term abortions (something most Americans oppose).
But in the wake of Roe’s end, the conversation has rushed rapidly to the extremes. A debate over an abortion referendum in Ohio morphed into a massive effort by Democrats to rewrite the state’s constitution. At the other pole, in Texas, Kate Cox beceme the human face of a policy that restricts even the heart-rending decision to end a nonviable, potentially dangerous pregnancy.
It’s such human stories that are at risk of getting lost in this increasingly fraught debate. At its best, the pro-life movement, a mainstay of the American conservative coalition for decades, has been animated by compassion. If conservatives can recalibrate our side of the conversation about women’s healthcare to one rooted in compassion, and informed by our traditional respect for privacy and individual rights along with a pro-family stance, we can reach more Americans and alienate fewer.
Conservative women are doing the work to lead this dialogue in a more productive direction. Commentator Ann Coulter wrote bluntly: “The prolife movement has gone from compassion for the child to cruelty to the mother (and child).” Nikki Haley urged greater compassion and humanization of the abortion debate on the campaign trail. Former Trump administration official Kellyanne Conway returned to her roots as a pollster to advise congressional Republicans to focus on improving access to contraception. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) sponsored legislation to provide more resources to moms and babies facing substance abuse disorders.
Plenty of conservative men understand the importance of these issues as well. Earlier this year, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) sponsored a bill to expand postpartum care for new mothers. And former President Donald Trump has privately floated the idea of backing a 16-week ban on elective abortions, with the three traditional exceptions — rape, incest and saving the mother’s life — firmly protected. The New York Times reported that Trump rejects potential running mates who don’t support the “three exceptions,” telling advisors “that Republicans will keep losing elections with that position.” He’s right.
The conservatives trying to take back control of this issue don’t expect to get much recognition of their effort from Democrats or a media ecosystem bent on pushing polarization for votes or clicks. The Republican-led Alabama state legislature’s swift move to enact IVF protections wasn’t given nearly as much coverage as the original court ruling. But the chaos only makes it more evident that the current post-Roe landscape isn’t working for anyone. It hasn’t been effective at reducing abortions nationwide, and it’s put Americans like Kate Cox and Alabama IVF patients in impossible positions.
It’s true that Republican adherence to extreme policies risks alienating voters in upcoming elections, which Democrats openly intend to make into a referendum on abortion. But more than just votes are at stake here. The U.S. continues to lag dismally behind other industrialized nations in providing maternal care. As Rep. Kim, chair of the Maternity Care Caucus, has pointed out, “Maternal mortality rates were already much higher in the United States compared to our peers, and now we have proof that conditions have grown worse for American women. This is unacceptable.”
Conservatives have an opportunity to regain control of the abortion issue with a compassionate focus on all aspects of women’s health care, rather than the most specific, polarizing aspects of the debate. To do anything less would be to do a disservice to half of the American population that we claim to serve.
Sarah Chamberlain is the president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership and founder of Women2Women.