Republicans and Abortion
I’ve never been one to vote based on issues that are not relevant to my life or the betterment of this country, such as climate change. For at least two decades, I’ve personally heard Republicans say they were voting for a politician because they are anti-abortion and/or anti-gay rights. I always asked if they planned to have an abortion and if they are gay? To that, they wanted to quote from the Bible, in which I had to remind them that the United States does not have a theocratic government.
Frankly, I’m tired of hearing Republicans say that they don’t understand how Christians can be Democrat when Democrats made abortion legal in the United States. That is simply not true. At the time of Roe v. Wade, six (6) of the Justices on the Supreme Court were appointed by Republican presidents.
Voting because of wanting laws that control the lives of others is a bit like wanting to be a control freak. Many of these same folks do not comply with the Executive Orders of Governors to wear a mask when out in public to prevent the spread of a virus that can be deadly. They want to exercise their freedom of choice. Hypocrites!
I remember when abortion became legal in New York State. It was in 1970. I remember Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was a case filed in 1971 and was decided in 1973. Roe was a woman who resided in the state of Texas. At that time, Texas only allowed legal abortion if the life of the mother was at risk. Among Roe’s arguments was that she could not afford to go out of Texas to obtain a safe, legalized abortion.
At the time that Roe v. Wade made itself through the judicial system, Richard Nixon (R) was president of the United States.
The nine Justices on the Court and the president who appointed them were;
| Justice | President Appointing and Political Party |
| Warren E. Burger | Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) |
| William O. Douglas | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) |
| William J. Brennan Jr. | Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) |
| Potter Stewart | Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) |
| Byron White | John F. Kennedy (D) |
| Thurgood Marshall | Lyndon B. Johnson (D) |
| Harry Blackmun | Richard M. Nixon (R) |
| Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Richard M. Nixon (R) |
| William Rehnquist | Richard M. Nixon (R) |
Dissenting on Roe v. Wade were Rehnquist (appointed by Nixon) and Byron White, appointed by John F. Kennedy (D).
This is not to give a false sense of hope for what the Supreme Court might decide now or in the future. Rather, this factual information supports that Republicans who claim that pro-choice was made possible under liberal control of the White House and the Supreme Court are repeating falsehoods. Factually, the majority of the Justices who ruled in favor of Roe were appointed by Republican presidents.
Posted on 09/22/2020, in politics and tagged 1973, abortion, Justices, majority, pro-choice, Republican, Richard Nixon, SCOTUS. Bookmark the permalink. 38 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
Thank you for providing the facts of the matter! That this has become, at least for republicans, the most significant issue of the day is simply ridiculous. As I’ve often said, the fact that they call themselves “Pro-Life” is the ultimate hypocrisy, for the majority of them support the death penalty, and argue against their tax dollars going toward helping support children born into poverty. Not only that, but they often argue against making birth control affordable and available to all women. They cherry pick their points, wanting to have their cake and eat it too. They would take us backward in time, to a time when women were considered of lesser value than men. Sigh. Good post … thanks!
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Jill,ou’r
Thank you. See, it pays to be old enough to have lived as history was made. LOL!
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So true!!! I’ve lived through a lot of history being made, too! 😉
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For sure, Jill. There’s an advantage, like good wine.
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🍷🍷 Definitely!!!
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Thank you for such a well-researched, timely, and helpful historical analysis of the Supreme Court, Xena. This is such an important context and helps offset the fears and other strong emotions evoked on all sides of the current situation!
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Carol,
Thank you. Thank you so much for understanding the intent.
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Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
It seems these days that republicans, in general, don’t much like facts, but prefer right-wing rhetoric. Roe v Wade shouldn’t be the major issue on the docket for the 2020 election, but for a large portion of the republicans, it seems to be the only issue. But, they have their facts all wrong, so our friend Xena has done her homework and sets the record straight for us all. Thank you, Xena!
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Jill,
Thanks for the reblog, dear friend, and your kind words.
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Thank you for this info.
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Thanks for your comment and happy to meet you , Ibeth.
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For Republicans, facts are only convenient when they are in their favor.
Good FACTUAL post!
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Nan,
Thanks for your comment. I agree. Somewhere along the time that Dubya became president, televangelists picked up a banner of blaming Democrats for legal abortion in the U.S. For too long now, many Democrats have defended the attacks by defending legalized abortion. I suppose they are mostly young or too young to remember or know when Roe v Wade was before the courts, and the Supreme Court Justices who decided in favor. Defending a woman’s right to choose is not necessary for such accusations because legalized abortion was made possible by Republicans. That should shut such arguments down and history is so easy to find on the case IF Republicans want to know the truth.
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And the person who wrote the decision was Berger I believe, a Nixon appointee…
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Brendan,
It was William Burger and he was an Eisenhower (R) appointee. Nixon was cut from the same mold because he was VP under Eisenhower.
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Burger was actually a Nixon appointee. But yeah, Nixon was in some ways cut from the same mold as Eisenhower (whose support from the Minnesota delegation was secured by…Warren Burger).
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It’s strange when the Republican Party says they are pro-life and seem to be for the death penalty. —- Suzanne
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Strange indeed and highly hypocritical.
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I refrain from enter into debates because few people have the mental clarity to remain calm, objective, and respectful in their discourse with others.
College debate class was helpful on that regard. However, I am compelled to point out that the Democrats were the majority in both houses of Congress in 1973 when the issue was debated and voted on. So be it. It’s the law of the land.
So, it is easy to see the position taken by Republican based upon that fact. But to be clear,
It matters not a particle of difference at all.
As human we are all accountable for our actions to whomever or whatever authority that might be, if any. So, simply put, let’s all take a deep breath, relax, and just chill out. Of course, I am a minister so it’s my duty to offer consolation.
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Zeke,
College debate class teaches that in order to debate, to research and study the matters or issues. If not, debate participants negatively effect their credibility and come across as argumentative.
Did you bother to read the post before commenting?
I ask because the post is about Roe v. Wade. That was a case heard by SCOTUS — not Congress. Congress was not involved in a vote at all regardless of the majority parties. If I am mistaken and abortion was legalized by an Act of Congress rather than binding legal precedence established by SCOTUS, please return with a citation to the statute.
Okay, I was being funny asking you to find what doesn’t exist. That’s because with the recent appointment by Trump to fill RBG’s seat, there is concern of whether SCOTUS will overturn Roe v. Wade.
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Xena, I can’t say that I would be too broken up if Roe v Wade is overturned after Trump nominates Coney because 53% of white women did vote for Trump even after the Access Hollywood tape and his insulting women right and left during the 2016 campaign and his proclamation that women should go to prison if they had an abortion.
Ironically I think that the lack of concern about abortion as an issue is the result of the success of the feminist movement in that women who are more likely to be engaged in politics hold jobs where they could afford to fly to NY or California to have an abortion and their job would allow them to take time off to do it.
Then you have women who vote Republican because they are business owners or care more about money than they do about their daughters or granddaughters or nieces having the right to bodily autonomy.
Once these women have been allowed in certain positions they began to think like white men.
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Roderick,
Please forgive my delay in responding to your excellent comment. Can you remember ever hearing legalized abortion being a political issue before the late 1980’s? As you said in so many words, it was a financial issue. Money is the root to all evil. Presently, greed and power grabs have caused people to live as if there is not a deadly virus spreading around America.
Vox has a good article on WHY and when abortion became a political issue.
Personally, since I don’t stand in the shoes of a woman having to decide, I’ve remain neutral on the personal decisions of others. The position I do take is that SCOTUS has decided it is constitutional. The constitution is law. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, I will shed tears for those women dying from unsafe abortions, just as I shed tears for mothers who cannot afford to provide for their child.
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Your post made me realize that politics are corrupt on all sides and that abortion is a moral issue not a political one. These doctors and mothers are murderers…(edited by Administrator)
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Brittany,
I’m so sorry you misunderstood the intent of my post and thus, I edited your comment to remove the link you had included. My post is not about the right or wrong of abortion. Rather, it’s about Republicans blaming Democrats for making abortion legal. What I showed is that when Roe v. Wade was decided by SCOTUS, the Court was majority Justices appointed by Republican presidents. When you say “…politics are corrupt on all sides …” please understand that the only thing that has made abortion a political issue is the dishonest blame that Republicans place on Democrats for the Roe v. Wade decision.
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I actually understood where you were coming from but my solution and ideas are very different.
I’m not super suprised that Republicans aren’t somewhat to blame for the Roe vrs Wade decision. The information is pretty interesting and will remember it next time someone blames democrats solely.
I suppose my intent is to share information about anti abortion issues, which I believe is extremely important. And it’s never been an issue of left vrs right although many times right is right on the issue. (Edited by Administrator, removing portions because it violates community standards.)
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Brittany,
I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed that you say you understood the intent of the post, but you decided to be disrespectful, and attempt to hijack the subject matter. I’m sorry to have to edit your comment, but I forewarned you. Any further comments from you attempting to hijack the subject matter of posts will be ignored and will not be approved for public posting. You have a blog, right? If you are motivated to get your opinion out publicly, do it on your own blog. It’s disrespectful to attempt to use the blogs of others to change the subject matter so you can express your beliefs on other subjects.
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Abortions and birth control are medical issues. They are not for Washington to debate.
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Micheline,
Absolutely! They are individual, personal choices. A friend introduced me to an acquaintance back in Dec. She too had a mastectomy. Without asking a question, she began telling me about a prosthetic, and I could find it on a Facebook page. I responded thanks, but I wasn’t interested in a prosthetic and I’m not on Facebook. She became a bit pushy in which I said I’m not superficial. (She hadn’t even noticed that I am flat.) Although I did not say that to offend her, she defended herself by saying she feels more comfortable wearing prosthetic bras. Tonight, my friend told me that she asked the acquaintance why she is a registered Republican. Her response was that she is “pro-life.” The acquaintance is in her late 50’s.
I truly think that she is a good example of those who vote based on issues that have no chance affecting their own lives. The acquaintance assumed I was interested in a prosthetic bra because she is. She assumed I’m on Facebook because she is. She cared not about my personal reasons. She assumed that I would want what she wants. Finding otherwise, she tried changing my mind. It was what she wanted and when she found out a little about me, rather than apologizing to me, she defended herself.
She’s voting to control the lives of others.
Washington debates the issue of abortion because it was once illegal. Being illegal didn’t mean that women didn’t have abortions but it’s better that they are safe and on this issue, safe means legal.
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Politicians should not touch such issues. They are private issues. For instance, taking certain medications may harm the fetus, so a doctor would advise an abortion. Republicans are trying to get votes using the wrong tools. Millions of Americans have not worn a facemask because the president and other Republicans didn’t. The guidance could only come from a medical expert. Dr. Fauci was insulted and ignored.
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Micheline,
I agree. Republican Governors who waited to issue stay-at-home orders, or re-opened businesses too soon, have discovered that the virus does not care about the political party of the Governor. Montana for example, has very low cases until most recently. People from South Dakota are being transferred to Montana hospitals. South Dakota hosted Sturges, and cases began showing up about 2 weeks thereafter. Without issuing mask and social distancing orders AND enforcing them, the virus has ran rampant. Medical professionals, including Dr. Fauci, were insulted and ignored because the truth is not in agreement with what Donald Trump wants. He wanted to blame Democratic Governors for the spread of Covid-19, and he feeds off his super spreader rallies.
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Many do not see the bloodshed. And it’s not over. More infections and he claims he won.
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Micheline,
Trump places this country in danger. The most concerning thing is that as president, he received info that our enemies will love to have, and he’s revengeful enough to give it to them. I will be so happy when noon on Jan. 20th arrives and Biden is sworn in.
By the way, how do you like the new block editor?
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Thank you Xena, During the last four years, the world watched a man build a wall when we needed bridges. I hope no enemy will use whatever information he disclosed. We must live in peace and Americans should have the money they need during this pandemic and the care they need. Stay safe.
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Micheline,
Here’s hoping for the best as of January 20, 2021. Trump is still crying like a baby and lying like a rug.
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Reblogged this on SUPABUTTERFLY.
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Thanks for the reblog, dear friend.
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