Abortion "boomerang" will hit Democrats

UPDATE: Mea culpa. The Alabama law is not a baby's first heartbeat law. It limits abortion to the first six weeks. I have fixed it.

ORIGINAL POST: Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune wrote "Alabama's abortion bill could boomerang on Republicans."

His argument is this will turn women voters into Democrats. He offered no proof.

I disagree. I have proof.

Republican Terri Collins wrote the law, which bans abortion after a baby has a heartbeat at six weeks.

Chapman wrote, "Tragic as her legislation would be for Alabama women, it should be a political boon for Democrats in 2020. Independent voters and moderates can’t ignore the ominous threat to reproductive freedom. They have to realize that the court may give carte blanche to legislatures in Alabama and elsewhere — making it imperative to elect abortion rights supporters at every level."

So Chapman believes women will be so horrified by banning abortion this early that they will magically turn Democrat.

But polls show that most Americans are OK with Alabama's law.

The Hill reported, "More than half of registered voters believe that laws banning abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy are not too restrictive, according to a new Hill-HarrisX survey.

"The May 10-11 poll found that 21 percent of registered voters said that such abortion bans are 'too lenient' while 34 percent said they believe they are 'just right.'

"Forty-five percent of respondents said they believe the laws are 'too restrictive.'"

That's a 55-45 split on banning abortion at six weeks.

In fact, 21% said such a law is too lenient.

While I get that polls are as good as flipping a coin when it comes to predicting elections, they do have a purpose in showing public mood.

Chapman's hope that abortion will turn the tide for Democrats has been a rallying cry since the 1960s, but it has not happened because abortion kills a baby. There is no joy in it. The few celebrities who have tried to celebrate it have sad personal stories.

For example, Chelsea Handler said she had two abortions at 16. She also told of becoming an alcoholic later.

There is a happy ending. Her anger at President Trump finally sent her to seek mental health, where she realized that her problem was that she never got over her brother's death when she was a child. I wrote about this earlier.

Democrats embraced abortion and are stuck with it. Which brings us to the woman who signed Alabama's abortion ban into law, Governor Ray Ivey.

Like me, she became a Republican in 2002. She had spent 23 years in Alabama Democrat politics after joining the cabinet of Democrat Governor Fob James in 1979.

And like me, the party had left her. One reason in my case was abortion. I suspect it was the same in her case. I suspect it is the case for many, many Democrats who switch to the Republican Party.

Maybe Chapman is correct. Maybe the abortion law will boomerang on Republicans.

I doubt it, but if it saves the life of even one baby, then it will be worth it.