Kerby Anderson

When the governor of New York signed the Reproductive Health Act on the 46^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it became another example of how abortion proponents are doubling down on abortion. Among other things it establishes a much more permissive standard by which a woman could get even a third-trimester abortion. Another example of the doubling down on abortion can be seen in the strong comments by the current head of Planned Parenthood. The previous president often argued that the organization did much more than just perform abortions. The current president made it quite clear that the “core mission” of Planned Parenthood “is providing, protecting, and expanding access to abortion and reproductive healthcare.” To see what is happening, let’s go back a few decades. When the Supreme Court essentially legalized abortion, older guests on our radio program said they never expected back then that abortion would increase since there would probably be stigma attached to it. One person said he could never imagine that people would be marching in the streets for abortion rights. Even twenty years later, you still had people like then-candidate Bill Clinton saying that he wanted to make abortion “safe, legal, and rare.” Often he would even put an emphasis on the word “rare” when he spoke. About that same time, I remember an abortion debate I did on a university campus against an abortionist. He presented abortion as a difficult decision and perhaps the lesser of two evils, necessary only because a woman had a “crisis pregnancy.” Contrast that with the New York governor who not only signed the bill but also lit up two bridges, a government building, and the One World Trade Center spire in pink. When the bill passed the New York legislature, you can watch the YouTube video of the enthusiastic applause. All of this shows how abortion proponents have decided to double down on the issue.