Friday, February 24, 2006

Wedge Issues

Contrary to what seems to be received wisdom in Washington, a strong majority opposes overturning Roe v. Wade. Even more than that, lots of people who want abortion to be illegal in some abstract sense are usually rather reticent about saying just who should be punished and what the punishment should be. There's a tendency to equate "make it illegal" with "stopping it" without recognizing that there would actually have to be state-imposed prison terms for the law to have any bite.

So, Oliver is right - there is a simple question which most Democrats should find very easy to answer and most Republicans should find very hard to answer:

Do you support the imprisonment of doctors for up to five years for the alleged “crime” of performing an abortion, as South Dakota’s legislature demands?