Pro-Life Victory Raises Stakes in '08 Race

Today brought the Pro-Life community its biggest victory since Roe v. Wade in 1973, as the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Congress’ prohibition of “partial-birth abortions”.

It took years of focus and detailed legal work by pro-lifers to win this 5-4 decision, especially after a 4-5 loss in 2000 regarding a similar partial-birth abortion law.

Because it only restricts the very worst type of abortion (starting to deliver a probably-viable baby, then killing it just before it exits the mother), this decision directly restricts only 2,000 or so of the million-plus annual abortions in America. But now the abortion debate has renewed significance, because elected officials (and not unelected federal judges) once again have a constitutional role in deciding abortion policy.

The impact will be huge in the Presidential race. Voters will insist that each candidate must be clear in proclaiming what they believe the law should be, rather than passing the buck and claiming they cannot influence the law, so their position doesn’t matter.

Now it DOES matter, and it matters very much.

All the Democrat contenders for President couldn’t rush fast enough to condemn today’s decision. Their positions are all alike, and all pro-abortion.

Republican contenders were almost as fast to react, except they praised the ruling. But there’s nuanced differences among the Republicans on abortion policy. For example, Rudy Giulani recently re-affirmed his support for using taxpayer money for abortions. Now each difference among the GOP contenders will be magnified because there is a very real chance that their Supreme Court appointees could swing the pendulum even further away from Roe v. Wade, or even reverse it.

Get set to hear Planned Parenthood claim that elected officials have more important issues to pursue than abortion restrictions. Yes, over 3,000 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq. But that still pales compared to over 1-million American abortions each year.