Moderate is Best

To the Editor:

In 1920, Republicans enacted the 18th Amendment outlawing the manufacture and sale of alcohol beverages in America. This attempt to legislate morality never appreciably reduced alcohol consumption, but it resulted in widespread lawbreaking and organized crime. Republicans went from being a majority party for 50 years, to being a minority party for 50 years.

Today, Republicans are once again trying to legislate morality by outlawing access to abortion. Some states are trying to outlaw abortion pills, while others are even outlawing travel out of state for abortion. These new laws will make abortions more costly and inconvenient, but they won’t appreciably reduce the number of abortions in America.

Republicans run the risk of becoming a permanent minority party with very little political power to enact policy. The 2022 midterms should have been a red wave tsunami because of runaway inflation and an unpopular president, but the GOP lost Senate seats and almost lost the House. Abortion rights won ballot initiative referendum votes in red state like Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana.

The solution for GOP lawmakers is a moderate approach that allows women easy access to medications from online health providers. These medications have been legal for more than 20 years. One way or another, women will get these pills just like men got alcohol back in the 1920s.

If Republicans refuse the path of moderation, they will lose the country to Democrat control. When that happens, Democrats will enact legislation that guarantees abortion rights in every state.