How to Kill Democracy, One Word at a Time

Conservatives' plan to overturn pro-choice amendments

Let’s be real: Republicans were never going to just let voters have a say on abortion. Conservative legislators and the anti-choice movement have made it clear that banning abortion is more important to them than upholding constitutional norms, and that they’re willing to lie, cheat and dismantle democracy to that end.

Any state considering a pro-choice ballot measure has seen a full-court press from Republicans seeking to stall or stop the democratic process. In the months before Ohio’s Issue 1 election, for example, the state GOP did everything possible to make it harder (if not impossible) to pass the pro-choice amendment—from lawsuits and biased summaries to a state-run disinformation campaign and a multi-million dollar special election to raise the standards on ballot measures. 

Still, Ohio voters cleared those hurdles and made it overwhelmingly clear that they want abortion protected. In fact, since Roe was overturned, abortion rights have won every single time they’re on the ballot.

“Thank goodness that most of the states in this country don’t allow you to put everything on the ballot, because pure democracies are not the way to run a country,” said former Senator and conservative pundit Rick Santorum. 

That apparent distaste for democracy is why the anti-abortion movement is crafting a plan not just to prevent pro-choice ballot measures from passing—but to overturn the will of the people once they do pass.

Less than a week after Ohio’s election, Republicans threatened to strip the courts of their jurisdiction over Issue 1, giving that power to the legislature instead. (Right now, each anti-abortion law has to be repealed through the courts.) And while legal experts say it’s not possible for Republicans to make good on their threats, Kayla Griffin of the group All Voting is Local points out that “the threat of election subversion is just as powerful as subversion itself, because it erodes trust and makes people question whether or not they want to participate.”

Supposedly more moderate Ohio lawmakers suggested a “compromise” ban: Senate President Matt Huffman said, “People mentioned the 15 weeks and the exceptions and things like that.” Never mind that Ohioans voted for zero interference in their bodies and futures—not 15 weeks’ worth.

The anti-abortion movement isn’t taking any chances, however, and have come up with an additional plan for Republican lawmakers. And in the absence of popular support, they’ve honed in on language as their weapon of choice: One of the country’s most powerful anti-choice organizations wants Ohio Republicans to redefine ‘abortion’ in the state’s law as a way to neutralize the pro-choice amendment.

This week, the chief legal officer for Americans United for Life, Steven Aden, told the Christian news outlet WORLD that because Issue 1 didn’t explicitly define ‘abortion’, Republicans have a chance for a legal workaround:

“There is opportunity here for Ohio lawmakers to step in and define what the ballot initiative left undefined and to define abortion…very narrowly and to make it clear that we’re not talking about abortion on demand.”

In other words, Aden is recommending that lawmakers define abortion so narrowly that no actual abortions would be protected in the state constitution. To be clear: this isn’t any old piece of advice from any old strategist. Americans United for Life (AUL) is the most powerful legislative organization in the anti-choice movement.

The group is responsible for drafting model legislation for Republicans; if you close your eyes and point to any abortion ban in the country, chances are it was written by AUL. The now-ubiquitous tactic of claiming abortion restrictions protect women? That’s AUL. And remember Abortion, Every Day’s investigation into abortion ‘complication’ reporting laws that Republicans use to fabricate data? That’s them, too.

All of which is to say: when the top lawyer at AUL makes a recommendation, Republicans listen. Aden’s advice also aligns with Republicans’ broader post-Roe strategy. Whether it’s replacing ‘ban’ with ‘consensus’, redefining ‘late’ abortion to mean anything after 12 weeks, or telling women with fatal fetal diagnoses that the conditions aren’t lethal but “potentially life-limiting”—distorting language has become the anti-abortion movement’s favorite fucked-up pastime. (I wrote about this in detail at The New York Times last month.)

We’re also seeing a focus on language in other ballot measure fights: In Florida, the Republican Attorney General is asking the state Supreme Court to reject a pro-choice amendment based on the word ‘viability’; and in Michigan, anti-choice activists are trying to overturn a recently-passed abortion rights amendment by claiming it creates an unprecedented “super-right.”

What makes Aden’s suggestion on ‘abortion’ specifically so duplicitous, though, is that Republicans have spent the last year redefining abortion to only mean “abortion on demand,” as he puts it. In multiple states, lawmakers have excluded treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages as being ‘abortions’, for example. The goal is to redefine abortion as an intention rather than a medical intervention, and divorce abortion from healthcare.

To suddenly reverse course so that ‘abortion’ only includes ‘medically necessary’ care would reveal Republicans’ deep hypocrisy and their disdain for voters.

Perhaps they just don’t care if Americans know exactly who they are. For some, the opportunity to keep abortion banned and strip women of their rights and freedom is simply more important than risking voters’ ire. As law professor Mary Ziegler told CBS News this week, “This is a movement that formed not to win elections but to advance fetal rights.”

For those who do care about elections and keeping their seats: it might be time to rethink who you’re getting your advice from.

---

A note from Jessica: 

Since I started Abortion, Every Day, one of the things that’s struck me most about the anti-abortion movement is how much they’re willing to say aloud. They really do give up the game again and again—so long as you know where to look.

When AED uncovered Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins claiming that sexual assault “helps prevent a lot of pregnancies,” it was because Grace was able to listen to hours of anti-abortion podcasts. Similarly, the way I expose anti-abortion strategy—like the key quote in today’s column—is by reading hundreds of articles a day from conservative blogs, religious publications and more.

It’s reader support that makes all that possible—we can’t do this work without your help. So if you appreciate the time and care that goes into Abortion, Every Day, consider signing up for a paid subscription before you head off to your Thanksgiving holiday. Or gift one to a friend!

You’ll get access to a fantastic community, subscriber-only content, and the fuzzy warm feeling of supporting independent feminist media. Every subscription counts, and helps AED keep holding the anti-abortion movement accountable.

Thanks, all. xJ

---

More on the anti-abortion attacks on democracy:

The GOP's Ballot Measure Wars