Ronald Reagan, Father Of the Pro-Life Movement
Capitalist Pig
By FRED BARNES
When President Bush signed a ban on partial-birth abortion yesterday, it
marked the first congressional rollback of Roe v. Wade since the landmark
Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion was handed down in 1973. And it
marked the success of an idea as well. The idea, of course, is that abortion
is inhuman and should be limited as sharply as possible and ultimately
outlawed altogether.
However, it takes more than an idea to enact a law. Yesterday's rollback --
indeed the rise of the pro-life movement across the country -- would not
have occurred except for one thing. That was the embrace by conservatives of
the antiabortion cause and the belated conversion of one conservative in
particular, Ronald Reagan. Once this happened, opposition to abortion became
a top priority of conservatism's chief political vehicle, the Republican
Party. Now, says Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, "it's the issue that
won't go away."
Not in America anyway. Outside the United States, serious opposition to
abortion is rare. Conservatives world-wide tend to agree on limited
government, low taxes, respect for traditional values and strong law
enforcement. But a commitment to protecting unborn children is unique to
American conservatism.
Even here, full-throated conservative opposition to abortion is a relatively
recent phenomenon. By the time Roe v. Wade was decided 30 years ago, 18
states had already liberalized their abortion laws. The opposition came
mostly from the Catholic Church and assorted Protestant evangelicals, not
from conservative leaders. There was no national campaign, as there is
today, to rally the pro-life forces, stage marches, pressure politicians and
gain favorable publicity.
AMERICAN CONSERVATISM
This is part of an ongoing series.
The most telling example of conservative indifference to the abortion issue
occurred in California. In 1967, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a bill that
virtually decriminalized abortion. At the time, Mr. Reagan was troubled by
the passionate lobbying against the bill by Cardinal Francis McIntyre. But
on the advice of two of his most conservatives advisers, Ed Meese and Lyn
Nofziger, Mr. Reagan signed anyway. He persuaded himself that the measure
would have little impact. Instead, it prompted a surge in abortions.
Roe v. Wade changed the terms of the abortion debate, but not instantly. At
first, conservatives were more upset by the decision's dubious legal
reasoning and its creation of a new constitutional right unmentioned in the
Constitution itself than by the actual impact. But it soon became clear that
the supposedly complicated three-trimester scheme laid out in the ruling
wasn't really so complicated. It meant abortion on demand, and the number of
abortions soared into the millions.
Roe v. Wade had moved America into a dark new world. Defending the decision,
radical feminists insisted that an unborn child was no more valuable as
human life than a wart. A lucrative abortion industry grew up. The
Democratic Party endorsed an unfettered right to an abortion in its 1980
platform.
Messrs. Reagan and Hyde were among the first Republicans to have strong
misgivings. Within a year after signing the abortion bill, Mr. Reagan told
political writer Lou Cannon that he'd never have done so if he'd been more
experienced in office. It was "the only time as governor or president that
Reagan acknowledged a mistake on major legislation," Mr. Cannon writes in
his new book, "Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power." By 1980, Mr. Reagan was
campaigning for president in favor of banning abortion in all but rare
cases.
Rep. Hyde, too, had been indifferent when initially confronted with the
abortion issue. As an Illinois state representative in 1968, he was asked by
a colleague to cosponsor a bill easing abortion restrictions. "I had never
thought about the issue," Mr. Hyde says. The bill led him to study the
matter and consult abortion opponents. He decided to oppose the bill, though
not vocally. But when it came up for a vote, "I sat there and nobody rose to
speak in opposition," Mr. Hyde says. "Almost by default, I spoke against
it." The bill was defeated. Elected to the U.S. House in 1974, Mr. Hyde
quickly concluded that the pro-life cause wasn't popular in Washington,
including among Republicans. But Mr. Hyde agreed to speak against the
appropriation of $50 million to pay for 300,000 Medicaid abortions. "By God,
we had a vote and I won," he says. Thus was born the Hyde Amendment, which
still bars the use of federal funds for abortion, and Mr. Hyde's role as the
leading pro-life force in Congress.
In 1983, President Reagan collected his thoughts on abortion in an essay
published in The Human Life Review and later in a book entitled "Abortion
and the Conscience of the Nation." Here's what he wrote: "I have often said
that when we talk about abortion, we are talking about two lives -- the life
of the mother and the life of the unborn child. . . . Anyone who doesn't
feel sure whether we are talking about a second human life should clearly
give life the benefit of the doubt. If you don't know whether a body is
alive or dead, you would never bury it. I think this consideration itself
should be enough for all of us to insist on protecting the unborn."
Why did Mr. Reagan's take on abortion matter so much? Because he was not
only president but also the undisputed leader of America's conservatives. He
defined conservatism. Not every conservative agreed with him, but most did.
And President Reagan, says Mr. Hyde, "gave the right to life position
stature and legitimacy." In 1976, the Republican platform had a lukewarm
plank on abortion that praised foes of Roe v. Wade. Without Mr. Reagan's
having to ask, the 1980 platform backed a constitutional amendment banning
abortion. Since then, the pro-life stance has scarcely been debated and
never seriously challenged at Republican conventions.
When President Bush signed the partial-birth abortion ban, it was fitting
that the event was held at the Ronald Reagan Building, a few blocks from the
White House. Hundreds of conservatives were in the audience. No doubt they
saw the small but important rollback of legalized abortion as a victory for
conservatives. For sure, it wouldn't have happened without them.
-----------------------------------------------
Mr. Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.
GoldenStatePoppy
>indeed the rise of the pro-life movement across the country -- would not
>have occurred except for one thing. That was the embrace by conservatives of
>the antiabortion cause and the belated conversion of one conservative in
>particular, Ronald Reagan. Once this happened, opposition to abortion became
>a top priority of conservatism's chief political vehicle, the Republican
>Party. Now, says Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, "it's the issue that
>won't go away."
>
Just as it was one of Reagan's most serious mistakes, it will prove to be
Bush's.
-Connie
Jim Chamblee
> When President Bush signed a ban on partial-birth abortion yesterday, it
> marked the first congressional rollback of Roe v. Wade since the landmark
> Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion was handed down in 1973. And it
> marked the success of an idea as well. The idea, of course, is that abortion
> is inhuman and should be limited as sharply as possible and ultimately
> outlawed altogether.
A Reagan and conservative correlary is that women shoudl be barefoot and
pregnant most of the time.