What Now, Lifers?

Ditch partial-birth

PRO-LIFERS, one might think, have never had it so good. “As you know, I campaigned as a pro-life candidate,” George W. Bush reminded the country shortly before his inauguration. On January 22, his first weekday in office, Bush banned aid to international groups that promote abortion abroad. The same day, tens of thousands gathered in Washington to participate in the March for Life. They hailed Bush’s move, and their cheers resounded—it was the annual event’s biggest crowd in recent memory. The new secretary of health and human services, former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, is pro-life. The abortion rate is down nationwide. And poll support is as strong as ever: Americans are about as likely to call themselves pro-life (45 percent) as pro-choice (47 percent), according to a Gallup survey last fall. (In years past, the pro-choice label enjoyed as much as a 23-point advantage.) A Los Angeles Times poll in June found that 65 percent of the public believed that second-trimester abortions should be outlawed. Pro-life candidates continue to benefit from their stand: Among the 7 percent of voters who say they care deeply about abortion, Bush trounced A1 Gore, 61 percent to 30 percent, according to Democratic pollster Mark Penn.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.

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Ditch partial-birth

PRO-LIFERS, one might think, have never had it so good. “As you know, I campaigned as a pro-life candidate,” George W. Bush reminded the country shortly before his inauguration. On January 22, his first weekday in office, Bush banned aid to international groups that promote abortion abroad. The same day, tens of thousands gathered in Washington to participate in the March for Life. They hailed Bush’s move, and their cheers resounded—it was the annual event’s biggest crowd in recent memory. The new secretary of health and human services, former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, is pro-life. The abortion rate is down nationwide. And poll support is as strong as ever: Americans are about as likely to call themselves pro-life (45 percent) as pro-choice (47 percent), according to a Gallup survey last fall. (In years past, the pro-choice label enjoyed as much as a 23-point advantage.) A Los Angeles Times poll in June found that 65 percent of the public believed that second-trimester abortions should be outlawed. Pro-life candidates continue to benefit from their stand: Among the 7 percent of voters who say they care deeply about abortion, Bush trounced A1 Gore, 61 percent to 30 percent, according to Democratic pollster Mark Penn.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.