REPUBLICANS: Should Rally Around ‘Unifying’ Abortion Concepts
Republicans should "agree to disagree" on the issue of abortion and "move on," according to Bruce Bialosky, a member of the California Republican Party's platform committee. In a Los Angeles Times op-ed written on the eve of a major platform committee meeting, Bialosky states that while there is "clearly not universal agreement" in the Republican Party about the issue, agreement does exist on three abortion "sub-issues." First, Bialosky argues that "if you want government out of the issue, then government should not pay for the procedure." He says the Republican stance "clearly contrasts with the Democrats, who want government out of thedecision-making process." Second, he asserts that "[g]overnment intervention between a minor and her parents on this issue ... counters a core principle of the Republican Party of strengthening families." Lastly, Bialosky maintains that most Americans do not back late-term abortions. He says, "If the Democrats wish to support this cause, they will be the ones who are seen as inflexible." Nonetheless, Bialosky maintains that the sub-issues "should not be a matter for the platform"; rather they are "issues for candidates to decide on as a matter of policy and conscience." Acknowledging that GOP members who defend the right to choose consider it is a core principle of the party, Bialosky writes, "Having government intercede to determine a woman's rights certainly contradicts the principle of smaller government [and] ... contradicts the principle that it is better for people to make decisions on their own ... than it is for a faraway bureaucrat to do so." Bialosky concludes, "Republicans should make it clear that they are the party of choice. A person can choose to accept abortion or be against it and still be a Republican. That is certainly more than the Democrats can say" (Bialosky, Los Angeles Times, 2/3).
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