The Republican Party Never Get to Call Themselves “Pro-life” Again
As I write this Republican leadership in the senate are falling all over themselves to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the election in a matter of weeks. Not only is this the same party that blocked Obama’s supreme court nominee Merrick Garland because it was too close to the election, in February of 2016, many of the individual lawmakers are also the same. In opposition, the Democratic strategy seems to be to shame these officials for such hypocrisy. The problem with this calculation is that the base of the Republican party loves this sort of maneuvering. The Republican base also wants Roe v. Wade overturned. They claim to be pro-life, that is a lie.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would have been up in arms when Republican pundits went on multiple television shows arguing that old people should be willing to die for the economy.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would have demanded that hospitals had adequate supplies of necessities such as masks and ventilators from the start of the pandemic.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would be fighting to increase testing and make sure people can get the results quickly to prevent the spread of a deadly disease to vulnerable populations.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not have elevated and celebrated Kyle Rittenhouse for murdering two people.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not justify the murder of black people by the police.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not be offended when people say, “Black Lives Matter.”
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not be aggressively antagonistic to mask mandates; not just refusing to wear masks but getting in people’s faces and endangering others health as well as their own.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not have insisted schools reopen for in-person classes this fall.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would be appalled that over 215,000 people have died in the U.S. from the Coronavirus and that a large percent of those deaths were preventable.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would be raising the alarm about the eviction tsunami that will result in countless families loosing the roof over their heads as we enter winter and in the midst of a deadly pandemic.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not embrace the idea that people should endanger their lives by voting in person in the middle of a deadly pandemic.
If Republicans were truly “pro-life” they would not be actively fighting aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), specifically coverage of pre-existing conditions. They especially would not be fighting the ACA in the middle of a deadly pandemic.
But Republicans aren’t pro-life. They just want strict government regulation of women’s bodies. They want a government so big that it has more control over a woman’s body than she herself does. We have long known that Republicans don’t actually care about human life, but 2020 has been a brutal reminder of just how little value they place on it.