Title: The Democratic Party Is More Extreme on Abortion Than Ever | Time
Headings: The Democratic Party Is More Extreme on Abortion Than Ever
The Democratic Party Is More Extreme on Abortion Than Ever
Ideas
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Content: But Bill Clinton and the Party’s platform were at least willing to pay lip service to pro-life Americans, especially those within the Democratic Party. It was Bill Clinton who said abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare,” with the last word indicating abortion isn’t something to be celebrated. And in 1996, the DNC adopted a platform that characterized abortion as a “difficult issue” and because of that, “we respect the individual conscience of each American.” It called for making abortion “less necessary” and “more rare.” Comparing it to the previous platform, this was new language geared at keeping pro-life Democrats in the Party, likely upset with Clinton’s first veto of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban just months before the 1996 convention. Eighty-one Congressional Democrats voted for the ban. It also came in the wake of the 1992 Convention, in which Gov. Bob Casey Sr. was denied the opportunity to speak because of his pro-life views. Fast forward to the 2016 Democratic platform. Long gone is the goal of making abortion “rare,” along with the idea of “respect [ing] the individual conscience of each American” on the issue.