In an apparent attempt to reach out to the prolife community this election, Democrats recently proposed new language for the party platform on abortion. Excising the “safe, legal, and rare” language that has been the foundation of the party’s abortion position since Bill Clinton’s presidency, the revised plank opens by saying that the party “strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay.”

But this time the conclusion of the statement affirms a support of “a woman’s decision to have a child” and outlines other policies which can support that right, such as “availability of programs for pre- and post-natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs.”

Douglas W. Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University, is Catholic and prolife but supports pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama in the upcoming election. He thought the changes were an improvement over the “safe, legal, and rare” formula.

“That was a bumper sticker. It didn’t represent any commitment to actually making abortion rare,” he said.

“The current theme of the Democrats is to pay attention to social justice issues, and this is a theme that has resonance in the context of abortion.” Kmiec pointed out that “70 percent of abortions occur in the context of extreme poverty” and “economic or social circumstances . . . ought to be addressed.”

The new language on income support in the abortion plank “is a significant step for Democrats,” according to Kmiec. While the revised Democratic position did not declare that life begins at conception, as Kmiec would have liked, he was happy that “the Democratic Party is starting to respond to voices that say, ’40 million abortions is too much.’”

While Democrats may hope the revisions will be enough to satisfy Catholic and other prolife swing voters, the new language has not been met with universal enthusiasm.

Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, pointed out that in terms of reducing abortions, “holistic solutions [need to] go beyond those few things. There is no need for a woman to have an abortion,” she said. “Unmet needs cause women to have abortions.”

Among the proposed support to pregnant women offered by the Democratic platform, Foster added that “practical resources can include housing. What are employers and educators going to do to solve this problem? Where’s the father?” Foster mentioned that women listed the father as the number one reason they’ve had abortions, and she urged all parties and people to provide support to pregnant women.

In order to “systematically eliminate the need for abortions,” Foster suggested taking the issue out of the political realm and creating an arena where the topic of abortion can truly be addressed. “We need a national summit called by the president on pregnancy and parenting,” she said. At this summit, Foster hoped that recommendations and guidelines for reducing abortion could be brought into a conversation.

Deirdre McQuade, the spokesperson for the US Catholic Conference of Bishops’ prolife secretariat, said that the abortion platform has actually been “rendered worse.” “While the amendment added things that USCCB would be in support of,” she said it simply “added good measures onto a fundamentally evil platform.”

Like Foster, McQuade emphasized that “there is no need to have an abortion.”

“Pregnancy is not a disease. Women need treatment and support.” As for the fact that the platform revisions are touted as something new, McQuade said, “One would hope that their commitment to choice always addressed the issues of support to women…How committed are they to this new range of choices?”

She also expressed concern that the goal of “rare” had been dropped from the platform, implying a weakening of the party’s commitment to an active attempt to reduce abortions.

In addition to the new language, Democrats also seem to be reaching out to prolifers by inviting noted prolife Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. His late father, former Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey, was famously kept from speaking at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because of his views on abortion.

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