Republicans Take Aim at Women

Last month, the Florida legislature voted 78-39 to ban all abortions in the state after 15 weeks. Currently, Florida allows abortions up to 24 weeks, and if the bill becomes law, there are no provisions for cases of rape or incest. The abortion ban bill heads to the Florida Senate, where it is expected to pass. If signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida would join a growing number of states with other restrictive abortion laws, such as Arizona, Texas, and West Virginia.

As Roe v. Wade enters its 49th year, it has found itself in the crosshairs of the GOP, whose political agenda continues to lurch farther to the right and is determined to deploy a Schrödinger’s cat approach to governing.

Some of the Republican party’s founding principles were small limited government, free markets, and limited government oversight. Yet, in 2022, the GOP has abandoned its values, opting to chase news cycle headlines and throw red meat to its base like a lion trainer at the zoo.

Red states across the country are swiftly moving to pass restrictive abortion bills before the Supreme Court’s ruling in June on the constitutionality of Mississippi’s bill, which bans abortions after 15 weeks. The law directly contradicts Roe v. Wade’s 1973 ruling, which “established the constitutional right to abortion and said that states cannot ban the procedure before fetal viability, which occurs around 24 weeks of pregnancy.”

As the Supremes consider the future of Roe v. Wade and deliberate on the constitutionality of Mississippi’s abortion ban, we can’t overlook the political strategy being deployed by Republicans to pass such bills. 

States with Republican-led legislatures are using a bottom-up approach in passing abortion bans in advance of the Supreme Court ruling on Mississippi’s ban. Should the Supremes allow Mississippi’s law stand, abortion bans in other states like Florida and Arizona would already be in place.

There has been a domino effect by legislatures in red states when it comes to passing abortion bills. However, for a pro-life party that believes in the sanctity of life, the GOP continues to support capital punishment. Similarly, for a party that detests bureaucracy and extreme government oversight, their legislative sessions and abortion bans tell a different story. The Republican party is no longer driven by ideology but by political opportunity. 

Abortion is a hot-button topic and in a midterm election when Republicans are vying to take back control of Congress, it is no wonder they’ve decided the best path to the People’s House is through a woman’s body.