How Pelosi’s Speakership Helped Bring About the Extinction of Pro-Life Democrats

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who announced earlier this month that she will step down from Democratic leadership as her party returns to the minority in the House, has many legacies. Perhaps the most significant legislative accomplishment was Obamacare — a big-government program Pelosi willed to final passage in the House even after the bill cost Democrats the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy. That legislative triumph for the Left is intertwined with another Pelosi legacy: the extinction of pro-life Democrats.

True, Pelosi did not cause the extinction. Both parties have become more and more polarized on the issue over the years, but Pelosi did her part to speed up that process.

About the Author

John McCormack

John McCormack is a former Washington correspondent for National Review and was a fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who announced earlier this month that she will step down from Democratic leadership as her party returns to the minority in the House, has many legacies. Perhaps the most significant legislative accomplishment was Obamacare — a big-government program Pelosi willed to final passage in the House even after the bill cost Democrats the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy. That legislative triumph for the Left is intertwined with another Pelosi legacy: the extinction of pro-life Democrats.

True, Pelosi did not cause the extinction. Both parties have become more and more polarized on the issue over the years, but Pelosi did her part to speed up that process.