Both Political Parties Lack Appeal To 'Moderate' Antiabortion Voters, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 16 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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The U.S. political parties "need to redefine themselves for moderate female voters -- and left-leaning pro-life men -- who see abortion as a lack of alternatives, rather than a celebration of progress," Angela Kays-Burden, a social worker and Christian minister, writes in a Christian Science Monitor opinion piece. "As a social worker who believes that life begins at conception, I am both pro-life and pro-woman," Kays-Burden writes, adding, "Both parties' platforms force me to betray my core values and choose between the two." Citing Gallup exit poll data, she notes that "every presidential election since 1984 has shown a net advantage to the pro-life side, based on the percentage of single-issue voters in the electorate."

According to Kays-Burden, there are "millions of women like me across this country who can't figure out which box to check on their voter registration cards. Our votes, both for party allegiance and president, are up for grabs." Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin's (Alaska) "presence on the Republican ticket is my last slim hope that the GOP will make good on their convention pledge and become responsive and accountable to working-class Americans," Kays-Burden says. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has the ability in future elections to "rescue their once great party from the exodus of single-issue voters," she writes, adding that "[s]mart Democrats would wake up to Palin's appeal to pro-life women and back candidates that represent the views of their members" (Kays-Burden, Christian Science Monitor, 10/15).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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