While acknowledging it doesn’t reflect current realities, Ross Douthat dreams of a Republican Party that puts its money where its mouth is on abortion, by funding adequate medical and social services for mothers and unwanted children. Is that dream plausible?
Of course not! While Douthat himself can credibly call himself pro-life, the vast majority of his party consists of reactionaries who are anti-abortion for completely different reasons. Their objective is to limit the sexual activity of women outside marriage, not to provide the fallen and their fruit with a decent quality of life. To them, deep and prolonged misery for the mother and the unwanted child are a feature, not a bug–a necessary deterrent, not a problem for society to overcome.
Reactionaries call the shots within the GOP. Barring a massive split in the party, Douthat’s dream won’t become reality in my lifetime.