Can abortion reduction policies be bipartisan?
Yes, and South Carolina just enacted one with strong bipartisan support.
On Monday, South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law a bill that will allow pharmacists to dispense oral contraceptives to women without a doctor’s prescription. The bill passed unanimously through the South Carolina Senate and had only a handful of detractors in the House of Representatives.
The law is a win for the pro-life movement and debunks one of the absurd claims spread by the pro-choice side.
When it comes to reducing and eliminating abortion, two sides exist. One is the supply side; if there are fewer legal abortion clinics available or funding for abortions, then fewer people will have abortions. However, there’s also the demand side: women facing unintended pregnancies who want to have an abortion for various reasons.
One way to reduce the demand side of the abortion problem is to reduce unintended pregnancies. Birth control works; better birth control is one of the reasons why the number of abortions has dropped in this country over the last 40 years.
Therefore, if women had more access to birth control, they would face fewer unintended pregnancies — and fewer abortions would occur.
What’s great about this bill is that both red and blue states can pass it. While states such as New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island won’t enact any abortion restrictions or regulations any time soon, it’s an example of something red and blue states can enact that helps address this problem.
The bill also dispels the myth that pro-lifers are coming for your birth control.
A handful of legislators across the country might not support birth control, but they’re a fringe in America’s politics. However, many pro-lifers support expanded birth control access because they think it’s an effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies that lead to abortions.
If states pass more laws like this, perhaps the public will take pro-choice hysteria about birth control less seriously.
Even if states outlaw abortion, women can travel to other states to have abortions. That said, many pro-lifers understand that letting states determine gestational limits isn’t the silver bullet to eliminating abortion in this country. Overturning Roe v. Wade is an important step, but it’s just one step.
States should take whatever steps they can to combat both the supply and demand sides on this issue — including expanding birth control access.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
