Out of Touch on Abortion

A hallmark of President Reagan’s leadership is his ability to reflect and amplify the public mood. Unfortunately, this talent seems to fail him when it comes to the subject of abortion. If not that, then perhaps the intensity of his personal opposition to abortion has blinded him to political reality. The President told an annual anti-abortion rally in Washington that “the momentum is with us” and “there already are signs that we’ve changed the public attitude on abortion.”

The evidence contradicts the President. At the time Reagan spoke, on the 12th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, ABC released an opinion poll indicating that 52% of the population supports abortion as currently permitted, 36% approves of abortion for certain health reasons, and only 11% opposes any and all forms of abortion.

It is curious that Reagan chose this year to honor the March for Life with its first public presidential address. To his credit, the President strongly condemned the use of violence against abortion clinics. And the federal government seems to have accelerated its efforts to find and punish those who have committed such violence.

But the President’s decision may only quicken passions and encourage anti-abortionists to believe that they enjoy a broader public following than they do. Or perhaps the President was seeking to shore up support from conservatives who are disgruntled over the White House’s reluctance in the past to pressure Congress for anti-abortion legislation.

In spite of Reagan’s talk of solidarity, one reason that anti-abortion efforts have failed in Congress is that not even the leaders of the movement can agree on just what form of law or constitutional amendment they want. Abortion is not an issue of absolute black and white, life and death or political right and wrong.

In his inaugural address on Monday the President talked of an American song and sound that are hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent and fair. On Tuesday he joined hands with a movement that to most Americans shares few of those attributes.