Liberal Politics and Abortion

Some thoughts on the fascinating dialogue between Sandy Levinson and Jack Balkin noted below.

I wonder about the accuracy or completeness of the conventional wisdom that a judicial decision overruling ROE will badly hurt Republicans. Given the limited impact of that ruling in most blue states and that most people do not think they personally will need abortion services, I suspect most of the middle class will soon learn to adjust to a world without ROE. And certainly, poll after poll indicates that abortion is not a major issue for most voters.

Democrats have had some luck with a strategy that combines greater emphasis on abortion rights with less emphasis on welfare rights, or other concerns of the lower middle class. It is probably no accident that while there is much noise over what Alito might do on abortion, no one seems very concerned that he is extremely hostile to labor unions. Thus, even if the Democratic party gains as a result of Roe being overruled, many liberals might find that altered coalition unattractive, its only virtue being that it remains less unattractive than Republicans.

Compromising with the more religious lower middle class may involve accepting some limits on abortion and slowing down the movement for gay marraige, but such compromise may also entail insisting that suburban social liberals pay higher taxes for social programs aimed at the poor. Alas, as the Democratic party becomes a better and better vehicle for social liberalism, both in and outside of courts, it has become a worse vehicle for economic liberalism. Thus, the challenge for liberals is not simply to figure out whether we are better off fighting for abortion in courts or in legislatures, but how a liberal coalition can be put together that might advance a broader spectrum of liberal policies than is presently the case.