{"id":61621,"date":"2022-08-08T06:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T10:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=61621"},"modified":"2022-08-06T12:30:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T16:30:52","slug":"two-red-states-different-actions-on-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2022\/08\/two-red-states-different-actions-on-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Red States’ Different Actions on Abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kansas is a reliably conservative state, but its citizens overwhelmingly voted to keep the \u201cright\u201d to an abortion.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the Indiana state legislature banned abortion, but with some exceptions.<\/p>\n

Kansas<\/a> judges had deduced the \u201cright\u201d to an abortion from the state constitution\u2019s freedom language, much like the 1973 Supreme Court did in Roe v. Wade.\u00a0 Since that decision, which made abortion a constitutional right, has been overturned, Kansas pro-lifers circulated a petition to revise the state constitution specifying that the listed liberties may not be construed to apply to abortion. In the referendum to so amend the state constitution, 59% of Kansans voted \u201cno,\u201d with 41% voting \u201cyes.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Though the referendum took place in a primary election, which often attracts a low turnout, the issue brought lots of voters to the polls, with a turnout of 63%, equivalent to that of a presidential election.\u00a0 Kansans will flock to the polls both to elect a Republican president and to keep abortion legal.<\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t conservatives supposed to be pro-life?\u00a0 Do the Kansas results mean that abortion will be the issue that will turn red states blue, give Democrats an unexpected victory in the midterm elections, and resolve the culture wars in favor of progressives?<\/p>\n

In her column What Pro-Lifers Should Learn from Kansas <\/a>[behind a paywall], Peggy Noonan, a pro-life columnist for the Wall Street Journal<\/em>, faults pro-life leaders for not putting forward a coherent response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.\u00a0 \u201cThe pro-life advocates who filled the rhetorical void competed over who could be most hard-line:\u00a0There should be no exceptions for rape, if it even was rape. There should be no exceptions for the life of the mother, that gives dishonest doctors room to make false claims. Maybe we can jail women for getting abortions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This alarmed the general public, which is by nature leery of extreme positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Kansas,\u201d she writes, \u201cpro-lifers asked for too much.\u201d\u00a0 Most Americans have a nuanced view of abortion, supporting it in some cases\u2013such as in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother; or very early in the pregnancy\u2013but agree that it should have limits.\u00a0 The Kansas referendum, though it would not have banned abortion in itself, seemed to have sweeping applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we know about abortion tells us that when you turn it into a question of all or nothing,\u201d says Noonan,<\/a> \u201cyou\u2019ll likely get nothing.\u201d\u00a0 That is, if you hold out to ban all abortions, no abortions will be banned.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Indiana became the first state since the overturning of Roe v. Wade to\u00a0 to ban abortion through legislation.\u00a0 But some exceptions were made.\u00a0 Landon Mion<\/a> of Fox News\u00a0<\/em>summarizes the new law:<\/p>\n

\n

The new law bans the procedure except in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life and physical health of the mother. The rape and incest exceptions only apply in the first 10 weeks post-fertilization. Victims would not be required to sign a notarized affidavit attesting to an attack, which had previously been proposed.<\/p>\n

Abortions will also\u00a0be allowed if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly.<\/p>\n

According to the bill, abortions can only be performed in hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals. This means all abortion clinics would lose their licenses. A doctor who performs an illegal abortion or fails to file necessary reports will also lose their medical license.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This law, which passed the Indiana House 62-38 and the Senate 28 to 19, would seem to meet at least some of Noonan\u2019s recommendations, though whether voters will reward or replace their representatives remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

But this is a difficult issue for us pro-lifers.\u00a0 For those of us who believe that life begins at conception, any<\/em> abortion\u2013no matter how early for whatever reason\u2013takes a human life.\u00a0 We cannot in good conscience support any law that legalizes or allows for abortion.<\/p>\n

And yet, remembering the \u201call or nothing\u201d principle, isn\u2019t it better to prevent many, or even virtually all, abortions\u2013if we could get such a law through\u2013than to insist on a pure law that would be impossible to pass and thus prevent no abortions?<\/p>\n

If we would sin no matter what we do, is this a time to \u201csin boldly\u201d by choosing the lesser of two evils?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what the best pro-life strategy should be.\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illustration:\u00a0 Map of United States with Kansas Highlighted, Template:TBS, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas is a reliably conservative state, but its citizens overwhelmingly voted to keep the “right” to an abortion.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the Indiana state legislature banned abortion, but with some exceptions. 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