I appreciate Michael J. New’s case for pro-life optimism after the pro-abortion victory of Issue 1 in Ohio. I am grateful for the work he has done for the cause of life generally, and in explaining Issue 1’s dangers specifically. But I have trouble sharing his optimism after what he calls the “setback” of Ohio’s result.
Issue 1’s passage was the seventh straight pro-abortion victory for ballot initiatives at the state level. Unlike in neighboring Michigan, where a similar referendum succeeded last November, Ohio pro-lifers had months to prepare for the vote. As New notes, they also had the backing of a popular sitting governor. And even though their vote-no campaign was outspent, it at least got some attention and resources at the national level. But it wasn’t enough, and now the culture of abortion will advance further in a red state.
It’s true, as New observes, that many of the pro-life successes of the post-Dobbs era are safe from similar direct-democratic action. But not all of them; Florida’s six-week ban is likely at risk. It’s also true that there have been tremendous pro-life gains over the past few decades, including, of course, Dobbs itself. These gains are the justification for Michael’s urging pro-lifers to “stay the course.” But given the unfortunate record since June 2022, the course needs some kind of correction. It is increasingly obvious that the pro-life cause, conservatives generally, and the Republican Party (their oft-reluctant vehicle) were unprepared for the world after Roe. My own uncertainty about whether these three groups can successfully adapt to this environment prevents me from assenting to New’s optimism.
This is not to say the pro-life cause is dead, of course, or that conservatives should give up on it; we must not. Pro-life activists, such as the ones in Ohio I spoke to earlier this fall, won’t. Neither will I. But now, both abortion advocates and those on the right who (as they have done before, and will do again) consider abortion an electoral drag worth jettisoning or at least downplaying have political momentum. Arresting that momentum, essentially a reactive task, will be difficult in itself, to say nothing of the proactive task of further advancing a culture of life. Politically, it will require better modes of organizing, fundraising, campaigning, and governing. But culturally, it will require reinvigorated efforts of outreach and persuasion. Much of the latter is already being done, by selfless and heroic people across the country. But it often does not get the attention or resources it deserves. A culture of life won’t be possible until that changes. When I see that it has, or at least has begun to, then I’ll be optimistic. In the meantime, my nose is to the grindstone.