As the 2020 election season approaches, one of the major issues the Republican Party is struggling to strategize around is abortion. Even though the United States’ abortion rate has hit a record low, it is still a highly polarizing issue in the American electorate, and the GOP has not been able to craft an effective message to work around that.
Outright anti-abortion sentiments tend to turn away many independent and female voters – the very ones that the Republican party needs to capture in order to win the White House in 2020. Even though the GOP’s stance on abortion has long been a matter of preserving the lives of unborn children, the party needs to find a way to make their stance more palatable to the voting public.
One proposal that has arisen recently is for the GOP to pivot from complete opposition to abortion and instead focus their efforts on protecting parents’ rights and increasing access to quality healthcare in order to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and the need for women to seek abortions. This strategy approaches the issue from a more conservative angle, while still acknowledging the right of women to choose.
The Republican Party is also looking toward potential Supreme Court nominations as another point of attack. The October retirement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has increased the potential for a conservative majority on the Court, and the GOP is angling to solidify their conservative stance on abortion by strongly pushing a Conservative Justice through the nomination process.
At the end of the day, the Republican Party needs to craft a campaign message that appeases both sides of the abortion debate. Crafting an effective message that balances support for both unborn children’s rights and women’s rights will be essential in helping the GOP win over independent and female voters. If successful, this strategy could be the key to a White House win in 2020.