By Daniel Nardini
Wyoming’s Governor Mark signed into law the banning of abortion pills in the state. Wyoming is one of 13 states that have banned abortion pills, and one of 15 states that ban abortion altogether. The abortion pill, mifepristone, had become the preferred method of abortion for women in the United States before the U.S. Supreme Court over-turned the Roe vs. Wade ruling that had been in place allowing for abortion nationally for almost 50 years. The result has been a hodgepodge of states passing their own laws either preserving abortion or outlawing it.
The one string running through those states that have outlawed abortion as a medical procedure is that they are all Republican. Another thing they have in common is that they are extremely conservative where religious groups have exercised political power to ban or restrict what they do not like. Problem is that the powerful Christian right on a state and national level have been influential in making sure that certain issues like abortion are outlawed. Since Wyoming is a very Republican and conservative state, legal abortion was one of the first things to go.
This might make women think twice about moving to Wyoming unless they are deeply religious and consider abortion “murder.” In my view, abortion is simply healthcare. Maybe women may not need it, or want it, but if they ever do then it is there. Well, at least in states where it is legally allowed. Illinois is thankfully one of them. I have no idea why the extreme Christian right have attached so much significance to abortion that they want it outlawed under any and all circumstances. But this will in effect backfire on the Republicans as a whole. In the local, state and nation elections of 2022, a good reason why Republicans lost in so many votes was because of the abortion issue.
Unexpectedly, abortion became an important enough hot topic issue that it cost the Republicans votes. The Republicans could have easily taken the whole U.S. Congress, and those Republicans who supported former U.S. President Donald Trump could have easily been elected. But this did not happen because of the abortion issue. In fact, almost all of those candidates that Trump supported lost. They were seen as too extremist. In largely Republican-dominated states, abortion as a medical procedure can and has been outlawed, making things much worse for women in those states, especially those living in poverty.
But all of this may come back to haunt the Republicans in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Even moderate Republicans who want to see a moderate Republican elected president may have an incredibly tough time persuading voters to elect them if the more radical and extremist Republicans are able to push through laws in those Republican-controlled that outlaw abortion. If I was a member of the Republican Party, I would point out to its leadership that the failed 2022 election for Republicans could be a blueprint for what might happen in 2024.
Wyoming’s Anti-abortion Pill Law
By Daniel Nardini
The one string running through those states that have outlawed abortion as a medical procedure is that they are all Republican. Another thing they have in common is that they are extremely conservative where religious groups have exercised political power to ban or restrict what they do not like. Problem is that the powerful Christian right on a state and national level have been influential in making sure that certain issues like abortion are outlawed. Since Wyoming is a very Republican and conservative state, legal abortion was one of the first things to go.
This might make women think twice about moving to Wyoming unless they are deeply religious and consider abortion “murder.” In my view, abortion is simply healthcare. Maybe women may not need it, or want it, but if they ever do then it is there. Well, at least in states where it is legally allowed. Illinois is thankfully one of them. I have no idea why the extreme Christian right have attached so much significance to abortion that they want it outlawed under any and all circumstances. But this will in effect backfire on the Republicans as a whole. In the local, state and nation elections of 2022, a good reason why Republicans lost in so many votes was because of the abortion issue.
Unexpectedly, abortion became an important enough hot topic issue that it cost the Republicans votes. The Republicans could have easily taken the whole U.S. Congress, and those Republicans who supported former U.S. President Donald Trump could have easily been elected. But this did not happen because of the abortion issue. In fact, almost all of those candidates that Trump supported lost. They were seen as too extremist. In largely Republican-dominated states, abortion as a medical procedure can and has been outlawed, making things much worse for women in those states, especially those living in poverty.
But all of this may come back to haunt the Republicans in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Even moderate Republicans who want to see a moderate Republican elected president may have an incredibly tough time persuading voters to elect them if the more radical and extremist Republicans are able to push through laws in those Republican-controlled that outlaw abortion. If I was a member of the Republican Party, I would point out to its leadership that the failed 2022 election for Republicans could be a blueprint for what might happen in 2024.