“One of the things that I think has been different and has surprised me are the number of Christians, particularly Christian women, who are talking about abortion in a different way,” said Amy Sullivan, a journalist who has covered the intersection of politics and faith for the past 20 years.
Sullivan said she has noticed an “awakening” among Christian women who feel they have been “manipulated” by male leaders in their community.
Too often, Sullivan said, the abortion issue has been “a trap that makes them feel like they have to vote Republican.”
Some anti-abortion conservatives are deciding they don’t want to be trapped. They cite data that suggests the abortion rate has declined under Democratic presidents just as much as it has under Republicans, and is now lower than it was before the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, that made abortion legal.
And they argue that the broader set of Democratic policies — greater access to health care, and to birth control, comprehensive sex education, funding for foster care systems and a strong social safety net — reduces unwanted pregnancies more effectively than the GOP’s efforts do.
Image: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
[ed. Predictable. Suddenly some people have a much more nuanced perspective on a lot of issues now that Trump appears to be losing. Where were they when this atrocity happened: Parents of 545 Children Separated at the Border Cannot Be Found (NYT).]
