Brad Reed
April 14, 2023, 7:38 AM ET
The latest edition of Politico's Playbook makes the case that the Republican Party's stance on abortion is leading it to an "unmitigated political disaster."
As evidence, the publication points to the way that Democrats pounced on Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's recent ruling overturning federal approval for abortion medication mifepristone.
In total, 240 Democrats signed on to an amicus brief condemning the ruling, compared to just 69 Republicans who signed onto a brief supporting the ruling.
"There’s a reason that nearly all Democrats are loudly opposing Kacsmaryk’s ruling while most Republicans have been hiding from reporters asking questions about it," the publication notes.
To put a fine point on it, Playbook also broke down poll numbers showing broad opposition to abortion restrictions in the United States, including 72 percent who oppose laws banning the sending of abortion pills through the mail, 63 percent who oppose six-week abortion bans like the one Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed this week, and 52 percent who oppose 15-week abortion bans.
"These are bad numbers for Republicans," Playbook emphasizes. "Whether you are DeSantis signing a six-week ban or Scott (tentatively) supporting a 15-week ban, you are still on the losing side of public opinion. That’s to say nothing of the Republicans who support outright bans, where public support ranges from the single digits to the low 20s, depending on whether there are exceptions for the life of the mother, incest or rape."
