Squeamish Conservatives are afraid that the Alabama law is 'extreme'

The past few weeks have seen unprecedented pro-life victories in multiple states. Most notably, Georgia outlawed abortion after six weeks and Alabama, as of Wednesday night, has prohibited the practice almost entirely. Ohio, Kentucky, and Mississippi have all taken significant steps to protect the unborn. But the law in Alabama is the most significant because it officially recognizes the unborn as human people. The fundamental goal of the pro-life movement is to establish and defend the personhood rights of humans in the womb. Alabama has done exactly that. For conservatives, this should be reason to leap for joy and throw a parade. Instead, many conservatives are expressing reservations about, and even opposition to, Alabama’s decision to pass a fully pro-life law.

I have heard that the law is "extreme," that it might be politically unwise, that it will backfire. After 46 years of unmitigated slaughter and 60 million dead bodies piled on top of one another, still some conservatives are concerned that it might be too radical to outright ban the systematic execution of unborn humans. They worry that it "goes too far." They say it might upset the moderates, it might not poll well in the rest of the country, it might make us look fanatical.

I find this attitude not only wrong but profoundly frustrating. First of all, Alabama has the right to pass whatever law it wants. Why should Alabamians care what a middle-of-the-road voter in New Jersey or California thinks about their laws? If Alabama doesn't take the feelings of coastal moderates into consideration when deciding how to govern itself, that's because Alabama is Alabama. It's not New Jersey or California and it doesn't need to pretend otherwise.

Second, there are perfectly clear and intelligent ways to explain why the bill doesn't have rape exceptions. If you need a primer, click here. Rather than fretting about the misunderstandings and misconceptions of the ignorant masses, perhaps a better strategy is to alleviate those misunderstandings and misconceptions.