Dog that caught car

The Republican primary, our real election, is over with no major surprises. We will return four representatives and one senator, all Republicans, to Congress where they can get back to obstructing. Republican state officers have sorted themselves out in new jobs, making room for Sarah at the top. Arkansas leaders could settle down to cut income taxes and blow the surplus, but the U.S. Supreme Court is set to reverse Roe v. Wade and rile things up.

When Roe was decided in 1973, it was a genius solution to a thorny problem, effectively taking abortion out of politics. Still, Republicans kept exploiting it, and since 1980, abortion has been Republicans’ single best issue for keeping their base engaged. Almost all ads run in the recent Republican primary talked about protecting “the unborn.” Republican states are competing to draft the most extreme bans and draconian means of enforcement. Of course, you have to be totally naïve to think that outlawing abortion will stop it, but bans will create new grief and dangers, particularly for poor women.

Stealing two seats and packing the Supreme Court, Republicans are about to achieve their long-sought goal, at least in states they control. But what if Republicans are like the dog that chased the car and one day caught it? Maybe politicking about outlawing abortion changes when you can actually do it. Estimating the number of abortions is difficult since many go unreported, but reversing what has been established law and a perceived right for half a century will affect many Arkansas families and have unforeseen consequences. It is likely to take a couple of years to see where we come out on this.

The sane position on abortion was articulated some years back by our own Bill Clinton: Abortion should be legal, safe, and rare.

ROGER A. WEBB

Little Rock