Former congresswoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut was one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress, especially on social issues. She voted to keep partial-birth abortion legal, for example. In an op-ed today, she nonetheless comes out strongly against the Obama administration’s command that almost all employers, including most religious employers, cover contraceptives and abortion drugs. She concludes:
Strong pro-choice representatives and senators, women and men, have understood the value of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Until the Affordable Care Act dramatically limited protection, it was seen as essential in a democracy that guarantees religious freedom. I respect Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon for understanding that being pro-choice does not mean denying others the right to seek the well-established protection of our conscience exemption.
Abortion often seems to be the only choice that some who travel under the pro-choice label are pro. Nice to see Johnson isn’t one of them.