The momentum is now officially on our side
Just half a year ago, with a new Democratic administration in charge, the issue of abortion was fairly far in most of our minds, even with a largely conservative SCOTUS, one that has leaned rightward just a bit longer than the court’s decision on Roe v. Wade in 1973. It barely broke the top list of concerns – with the fallout of the pandemic standing clear in everyone’s mind.
The leak of an opinion draft from Samuel Alito weeks before its time, however, changed everything – bringing the country back to the very real reminder that abortion rights could disappear in much of the country overnight if it’s successfully overturned. This is of course, far from the first time it’s been on the ballot – but now there’s every reason to believe that SCOTUS will finally act on overturning what they claimed was settled law.
While the overwhelming majority of American voters agree with the landmark court case, it’s not always a dealbreaker to voters, but this is the first time where we’re grappling with the very real possibility of the case being overturned and how much worse life could be for a number of people in its aftermath. What is absolutely certain is that with Republican control, it will be much, much worse.
Fortunately, we’re seeing a groundswell of support for Democrats rallying around the issue – with a new NPR/PBS Marist Poll saying that two-thirds of Democrats are more likely to come out and vote in the 2022 midterms due to the newly leaked draft, compared to 40% of Republicans more inclined due to the same thing. The momentum is on our side – let’s do all we can to drive up registration of new voters and keep the GOP from gaining power in 2022.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making