Are we going backward or forward? For fear that the Supreme Court’s
partial birth abortion ban this year might somehow drive society back
to discrimination and oppression and other horrible consequences,
liberal activists swung into high gear to get control of the nation’s
laws, every which way they could.

Key to their agenda was Sen. Barack Obama.

In late April 2007, Senator Obama, along with Senator
Hillary Clinton and others, immediately re-introduced the federal
Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a radical attempt to enshrine
abortion-on-demand into American law, to sweep aside existing laws that
the majority of Americans support– such as requirements that licensed
physicians perform abortions, fully-informed consent, and parental
involvement– and to prevent states from enacting similar protective
measures in the future.

More importantly, FOCA is a cynical attempt to prematurely end the
debate over abortion and declare “victory” in the face of mounting
evidence that (a) the American public does not support the vast
majority of abortions being performed in the U.S. each year and (b)
abortion has a substantial negative impact on women.

Thirty-five years after Roe, abortion supporters, like Senator
Obama, are dismayed that abortion remains a divisive issue and that
their radical agenda has not been submissively accepted by the American
public.  In an address to Planned Parenthood last summer, Senator Obama
indicated that he is “absolutely convinced that culture wars (including
the on-going debate over abortion) are “so nineties,” and that it is
“time to turn the page” since he and other abortion supporters are
“tired about arguing about the same ole’ stuff.”

That’s intended to be a conversation-stopper. It hasn’t worked.