Conservative Dems Hail Party Platform's New Abortion Plank

By Alec MacGillis - Washington Post, The Trail
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - Web Link
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August 13, 2008

Barack Obama, meet Ellen Page. Left-leaning opponents of abortion rights are hailing the new Democratic Party platform agreed to last weekend by the Obama campaign and other Democrats as a sign of a new common ground in the abortion debate, right up there with last year's sleeper hit indie film, "Juno," in which Page's offbeat pregnant teen character eschews abortion and gives her baby up for adoption.

On a conference call Tuesday, a half-dozen anti-abortion pro-Democratic thinkers and religious leaders claimed victory for the party's new abortion plank, which they said took a big step in their direction by more explicitly stating the party's support for women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. By doing so, they said, the Democrats were moving closer to the middle ground where most Americans reside -- not wanting to criminalize abortions, but wanting to reduce the number performed.

"There's a common ground possible here," said Rev. Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners, the country's largest network of liberal Christians. "It's never been as explicitly stated that the Democratic Party supports a woman's decision to have their child, and offers her practical support to have her child. It's an historic step forward." He added, "This plank makes room for people with moral convictions about abortion.... A lot of people are going to find their convictions represented here."

Whether the new language will be enough to broaden Obama's appeal among rank and file pro-life Catholics, evangelicals and other swing voters is another matter, and will depend, the leaders agree, on how well Obama gives voice to the middle ground on the campaign trail, including at his upcoming appearance at the Saddleback mega-church Saturday. "In the end, the interpretation of the platform lies in the hands of the candidate," said Rev. Tony Campolo of Eastern University in Pennsylvania.

"Interpretation" is the key word. Some pro-life voters willing to place stock in the new platform might be deterred by the fact that abortion rights supporters are also claiming victory in the language, which they like for its statement of "unequivocal" support of abortion rights and for its elision of the existing conciliatory line that some found overly pat and judgmental, that abortions should be "safe, legal and rare."