Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing to be the next Supreme Court justice began with a crowd of angsty women, dressed as victims from The Handmaid’s Tale. Concerned feminists who oppose Kavanaugh regularly interrupted Kavanaugh’s hearing with shrieks and hollering. Why? They oppose Kavanaugh’s confirmation because they assume he will overturn Roe v. Wade.
Even as Kavanaugh remains in a contentious hearing, though he’ll likely be confirmed, feminists are counterproductive. Abortions have declined because of what the movement has done to itself, not because of an originalist like Kavanaugh being nominated to the Supreme Court. On the other hand, in some parts of the country, abortion is still being spearheaded as a right.
Abortion has declined the last few years because of a combination of factors, none of which include Supreme Court judges. The pro-life movement has shifted its focus from old-school picketing to placing ultrasound machines in clinics and passing legislation that demands abortion clinics meet the same health regulations as other medical clinics. This alone has caused dozens of abortion clinics (32 in 2017) to shut down. The city of Nashville just shut down another abortion clinic, leaving only one in the entire city, garnering an outcry from feminists. When it comes to actual healthcare, feminist dogma only goes so far. Pro-life legislators demonstrated this by shifting strategies over the last five years, which helped to reduce the abortion rate, without overturning Roe.
At the same time, abortion rights remain alive and well, Handmaid’s Tale or not. California just became the first state to mandate public colleges make abortifacients available to students. The bill has already passed the State Senate and is expected to pass the State Assembly at the end of September. It’s one thing to make the pill available — although obviously most pro-life advocates would lobby against this — it’s another thing entirely to mandate that schools offer this to college kids.
The campaign to stop Kavanaugh, particularly from women, whether dressing up as handmaids or shrieking and interrupting a hearing, is neither brave nor is it well-informed. While pro-life advocates hope that Kavanaugh someday might aid in overturning Roe, the law itself will be difficult to overturn and it’s neither a done deal nor is it impossible. Abortion advocates lie to themselves that they’re losing abortion rights as their own clinics are well below health standards, causing them to be shut down. Abortion advocates lie to themselves that they’re losing their right to abortion even as California prepares to force colleges to give students abortifacients.
Worst of all, abortion advocates lie to themselves and say they’re feminist heroes, brave and protective of their abortion rights. Really, they’re just disrespectful, rude, and ineffective.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
