In last Tuesday’s Democratic congressional primary in Illinois’s 3rd District, challenger Marie Newman upset incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski by approximately a 2-point margin, 47% to 45%. This is a tough defeat for the pro-life movement.
Lipinski was one of the few consistently pro-life Democrats in Congress. Indeed, with his likely ouster, the already thin ranks of pro-life Democrats in Congress absorb yet another loss. Congressional Democrats Ben McAdams of Utah and Henry Cuellar of Texas, sometimes vote pro-life, but the only other Democrat in Congress who consistently supports pro-life legislation is Collin Peterson of Minnesota.
There were some circumstantial factors that led to Lipinski’s defeat. First, concerns about the coronavirus might have depressed turnout among elderly voters, who were probably more likely to support Lipinski. Additionally, the 3rd Congressional District featured a competitive Republican primary, as Republicans wanted to avoid renominating Arthur Jones, a holocaust denier with ties to neo-Nazis. However, the presence of multiple Republican congressional candidates in an open primary might have taken some votes away from Lipinski.
Furthermore, Lipinski, like other pro-life Democrats, was also likely a victim of the changing demographics of the Democratic Party. For a long time, Catholic voters who came of age during either the Great Depression or World War II were a key constituency of the Democratic Party. These voters tended to be somewhat liberal on economic issues but socially conservative. However, this demographic cohort is slowly passing away and being replaced by a younger generation that is considerably more liberal on social issues.
Overall, pro-lifers owe a great deal of gratitude to Lipinski. When he was first elected in 2004, there were many more pro-life Democrats in Congress. During this time, the federal Hyde Amendment still passed with broad bipartisan support. As recently as 2003, 63 House Democrats voted in favor of the federal partial-birth abortion ban.
However, since that time, the parties became increasingly polarized. Additionally, in 2010, pro-life House Democrats led by Bart Stupak of Michigan went back on their promises and voted for the Affordable Care Act, despite being warned by pro-lifers that it would dramatically expand taxpayer funding of abortion. As a result, many pro-life Democrats either resigned or were defeated. Lipinski became the most prominent pro-life Democrat in Congress.
At various gatherings, Lipinski has told audiences that he never intended to take on this role. That said, he never complained, and he always consistently voted pro-life despite receiving precious little support from his Democratic colleagues. Lipinski was the only member of the Stupak Coalition who voted against the Affordable Care Act, due to the aforementioned pro-life concerns about paying for abortions with taxpayer dollars. Additionally, Lipinski was always willing to find time in his busy schedule to meet with groups of pro-life interns.
Furthermore, Lipinski could have almost certainly held his congressional seat for a very long time if he had simply changed his position on abortion. Countless less principled Democrats, including Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden, changed their position on abortion due to changing political currents in the Democratic Party.
Lipinski did not do so. He is a man of courage and integrity who was always steadfast in his support for unborn children. For that, pro-lifers will always be indebted to him.
Michael J. New is a visiting assistant professor at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New.
