Abortion is still a problem for the GOP

[marmar]

Abortion is still a problem for the GOP
Even this Supreme Court seems wary of efforts to restrict the abortion pill

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published May 6, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) In times like these, it’s important to take pleasure in the little things — like the fact that Monday was probably not a great day for Samuel Alito. The Supreme Court justice, who always looks like he just got a parking ticket, has been the best friend the anti-abortion movement could ever hope for. In 2022, he handed them a ruling that ended abortion rights, which was so breathtaking in its contempt for women’s humanity that he even cited jurists from the 13th and 17th centuries who argued that women’s “position is inferior to that of men,” defended men who raped their wives and prosecuted women for witchcraft.

But these contributions to the field of legal misogyny did not buy Alito any grace with the religious right on Monday when he stayed a Fifth Circuit Court ruling that would have restricted women’s access to safe abortion pills to in-person prescriptions. The stay allowing mifepristone prescriptions via telehealth appointments and sent through the mail is brief — it expires after just one week — and yet the anti-abortion crowd lost their minds. Leaders of anti-choice groups flooded social media with outraged posts, accusing Alito and President Donald Trump of betraying their cause. They also demanded the firing of Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary because he hasn’t yet rejected the science that shows the pills are safe.

This all came after a Wall Street Journal report revealing how anger has been building at Trump within the anti-abortion movement for not doing more to stop women from accessing the abortion pill mifepristone. But those activists a problem: Abortion bans are wildly unpopular and keep getting voted down even in red states. Leaders among the Christian right suspect, with good reason, that the White House and the GOP would rather not reopen an issue placing them on the wrong side of public opinion — especially in an election year, when they’re already hurting from the president’s unpopular war in Iran and its economic damage.

....(snip)....

They have good reason to worry. While it’s true that abortion slightly declined as a priority for voters in 2024, the issue still proved motivating, especially for younger female voters that turned out for Harris, even as more of their male counterparts switched to Trump. Abortion rights faded for a couple of reasons. For one thing, a lot of states put abortion rights up as ballot initiatives, which allowed at least some ostensibly pro-choice voters to feel safer backing Republicans, knowing they were prevented from taking away the right to choose. ....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/06/abortion-is-still-a-problem-for-the-gop/

[LS0999]

1. If you don't want an abortion don't get one

Pretty simple.. Why is this still an issue.

[CTyankee]

2. Because religiously insane people insist everyone agree with them that abortion is a sin.

[maxsolomon]

3. What problem? They're clearly winning.

The only "problem" is that they haven't yet stopped all possible abortion access in America - but the SCOTUS is working on it.

The young women who turned out for Harris? There aren't enough of them.