by Xavier Bisits
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Recently, many states began suspending elective surgeries, to reduce the spread of infection and relieve an overwhelmed health care system. To promote and protect a culture of life that places the lives of the elderly and immunocompromised above our short-term interests. The advice, from HHS, is extremely broad, recommending postponing several major surgeries: some cancer surgery, hip replacements, elective spine surgery, and endoscopies.
In the context of this emergency, you’d think any interest group would have a tough time carving out an exception to a life-saving rule.
Not so.
Democratic New Jersey has proudly carved out one “explicit exemption” for a specific elective procedure: abortion. Democratic Colorado didn’t even bother carving out abortion as an exemption - they simply classify it as essential to stop the “metastasis or progression of staging of a disease or condition”.
There are three morals to this story. First, in America, you can make anything about abortion if you really want to. Second, the $3 billion abortion industry can do anything it wants via the modern-day Democratic Party. Finally - and sadly - the Democratic Party has truly gone next level in its abortion extremism.
In today’s Democratic Party - “liberal” has been redefined. It used to mean supporting Dreamers, fighting climate change, raising the minimum wage, and protecting workers from bad trade deals. Today, apparently, it doesn’t mean much more than “supporting abortion.” Nowhere was this on stronger display than in the defeat of Democratic congressman Dan Lipinski, who is a liberal in every sense of the word other than his pro-life values. I spent a weekend in Chicago doorknocking for Mr. Lipinski. But he was run to the ground by outside funding attacking him as a “Trump Democrat”. (Something they could have said about Beto O’Rourke, who has a substantially more pro-Trump voting record.)
Like many Democrats, I’m a progressive. I agree with AOC on most things. The Trump presidency has not been kind to immigrants. It has not been kind to people of color. It has not been kind to the 78% of American workers living paycheck to paycheck, who often rely on GoFundMe to pay for their health care.
You’d think that in this context of urgency, the Democratic Party wouldn’t be taking any bets in this race. The Democratic Party - the party of the people - would never take a gamble on people’s lives.
But that’s exactly what’s happening. The Democratic Party is now taking a policy supported by only 13% of the population to what will be a narrow election in November.
Yes, abortion up to and including the third trimester - a policy only supported by 13% of Americans. As recently as January, leading members of the Democratic Party repeatedly blocked attempts to restrict late-term abortion. In a survey by the New York Times, only one candidate - an obscure one, Joe Sestak - admitted they would support restrictions after 24 weeks. Joe Biden, who has tended to equivocate on the issue in the past, is unlikely to challenge his own party on the issue. Many leading Democrats cannot even bring themselves to welcome pro-lifers into their coalition - as shown when Pete Buttigieg dodged Democrats for Life of America Director Kristen Day’s question on inclusive platform language.
With these actions, it’s not surprising that many Democrat friends I know want to stay home in November. I’m not a citizen - so that’s not a decision I have to make - but it’s one weighing on the minds of the 20% of Democrats who say they’d only vote for a pro-life candidate.
Personally, I believe that protecting the lives of pre-born children is among the greatest social justice issues of our time. That the first duty of the state is to protect the weak, not the strong, and that violence is not an acceptable solution to difficult problems.
I can appreciate that not all my progressive friends agree with me on that.
But I can’t appreciate why they want to stake progress on every single other progressive issue on it.
Xavier Bisits is a member of Democrats For Life of America.
In no way is this article related to, informed by, or endorsed by his employer.