, Columnist
Pro-Lifers Have Momentum, But They Need to Move Gradually
Banning all abortions is the ultimate goal. But demanding too much too soon would cause a backlash.
The war won’t be won overnight.
Photographer: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
For roughly 25 years, the movement against abortion has been predominantly incrementalist. Its focus has been on restricting abortion in relatively modest ways rather than on amending the Constitution to prohibit it altogether.
In the 1990s, pro-lifers began to campaign to ban a method of abortion they called “partial-birth abortion.” More recently they have sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation.