Slate Opinion Piece Examines Support For Obama Among Female Voters Who Oppose Abortion Rights

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Abortion
Article Date: 15 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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With the economy becoming the dominant issue of the presidential campaign, some Democratic female voters who voted for President Bush because of his opposition to abortion rights are taking that issue "off the table, at least for now," author and Slate contributor Melinda Henneberger writes in an opinion piece.

Although these women -- mostly Catholics -- continue to oppose abortion rights, their "view of the Republican Party's commitment to seeing" Roe v. Wade overturned has shifted, Henneberger writes. Henneberger gives an example of Marlene Turnbach -- a woman from Hazelton, Pa., who is a registered Democrat and a Catholic who voted twice for Bush because of abortion issues. Turnbach said that even if Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is elected, the legality of abortion "is not going to change" and that, given the economic situation right now, she does not think voters should base their decision on a candidate's position on abortion. According to Henneberger, Turnbach's attitude reflects that of many female Catholic Democrats in Pennsylvania, a battleground state where one-third of all voters are Roman Catholic and six in 10 Catholics describe themselves as antiabortion rights.

Many women who voted for Bush because of abortion issues and now plan to vote for Obama fear being thought of as "defectors," particularly at church, Henneberger writes. Catholics in this group are concerned they will be refused communion if their support for Obama becomes publicly known. Still, many women in this group regret their votes for Bush for several reasons and have decided that "abortion and other social issues should be off the table for good" when considering candidates, Henneberger writes. She concludes, "After 35 years of fighting over Roe, even some of the most convinced combatants are ready for a cease-fire" (Henneberger, Slate, 10/13).

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