The End of Abortion

Scott Hardie | November 1, 2011
That title refers not to ending the practice of abortions, but the political controversy over them. David Frum recently speculated about the future decline of this polarizing issue, which he likened to alcohol prohibition in a number of ways, including: Who sees alcohol as a great evil any more? Culture-war politicians have long manufactured distractions from the real critical issues of the day, and right now, there seems to be no bigger symbol of godless, morally bankrupt liberalism (not to mention feminism) than the casual murder of unborn children. But as Americans' attitudes toward one another shift with coming generations, and we no longer think of abortion as something "they" do but something that anyone does, abortion will cease to have traction with voters and politicians will stop feigning such hard-line stances against it (ahem, Mitt). Were David Frum's conservative credentials less solid (setting aside AEI's expulsion), I would dismiss this article as a liberal fantasy, but perhaps his predicted future will come true. In the meantime, politicians will keep being politicians.

Erik Bates | November 1, 2011
[hidden by request]