NY Mag op-ed claims pro-life movement relies on ‘undemocratic tools’ to win: ‘Public will has been betrayed’
On Tuesday, a state constitutional amendment to allow regulation of abortion was rejected by Kansas voters
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Magazine Intelligencer writer Sarah Jones said the pro-life movement will "likely rely on the undemocratic tools they know best" to win future political victories after they lost a state-wide vote in Kansas to regulate abortion.
"The fight for abortion rights is no less than a fight for the democratic soul of a nation," Jones wrote.
She urged readers to "Consider the questions it provokes," such as "Are women equal citizens, or must they relinquish their gains and accept an inferior political position? Does the will of the public really matter, or should we allow the conservative movement to circumvent the democratic process, all to protect our political norms?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She suggested that after the recent pro-abortion victory in Kansas, "Something has to give. The anti-abortion movement won’t move on from losses like Kansas; it’ll pivot instead, trying new ways to achieve old goals. Without substantial political reforms, it may even succeed. The prospect should disturb all of us."
OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS - AUGUST 01: Signs in favor and against the Kansas Constitutional Amendment On Abortion are displayed outside Kansas 10 Highway on August 01, 2022 in Lenexa, Kansas. On August 2, voters will vote on whether or not to remove protection for abortion from the state constitution. (Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
"The anti-abortion movement is passionate, but it’s out of step with the public. That doesn’t mean it’s powerless," she warned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She provided details for how she claims the pro-life movement uses the institutions of society to win political victories. "To enforce its vision for society, it must devise other, nonpublic routes to power. With time, and a good deal of money, abortion foes have ridden these routes all the way to the Supreme Court, which they control. The fact that this happened in a democratic society does not mean the right’s strategies are the product of some popular mandate," she wrote.
She specifically condemned the Supreme Court as an institution that is disproportionately conservative despite presiding over what she claims is an increasingly liberal country.
Demonstrators march and gather near the state capitol following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Austin, Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is being sued by health care providers over allegedly threatening to prosecute abortion providers. (AP)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The conservative Supreme Court does not reflect a conservative country. Never forget for a moment that the court’s right-wing majority was appointed by two Republican presidents who lost the popular vote. Foiled by undemocratic structures, manipulated in turn by the conservative legal movement, the public will has been betrayed," she said.
She did acknowledge however that "Abortion rights don’t always win at the ballot box," recalling how "Voters in West Virginia and Alabama both approved abortion restrictions in 2018, though that was before the Court’s decision in Dobbs that overturned Roe."
Outside United States Supreme Court on June 25 (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
She wrote, "Abortion bans are no longer theory but reality in many places, and their consequences are becoming difficult to ignore. As more people lose the right to an abortion and are forced to endure pregnancies that they don’t want, and which may even endanger them, the abortion-rights movement could pick up supporters."
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