The Importance Of Choice

As we mark the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we reflect upon the true intent of the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision and our goal of supporting personal freedoms. Roe has never been about promoting a particular choice; it has always been about giving families the freedom and privacy to make personal choices free from government control.

We are struck by how polarizing the idea of personal freedom, a core GOP belief, has become in the Party. The Republican Party holds the long history of supporting women and families; and of safeguarding the constitutional protections of the separation of church and state. The Party’s founding principles call for limited government and individual freedom. That is why 78 percent of Republicans believe that a woman should make the decision to have an abortion, not the government. 66 percent of self described pro-life Republicans agree: the choice should be made without government interference.

Unfortunately, the Party leaders have become so entrenched in promoting the agenda of social fundamentalists they have completely lost the confidence of American voters. The last two elections cycles are testament to that truth. Instead of learning from our missteps and working for a common sense agenda, GOP leaders who are seeking to run the RNC seem to be calling to move further to the right– this will relegate us to a permanent minority.

It is time for our Party, the one of limited government and personal responsibility, to stop using Roe as a litmus test. The American people are calling on our leaders for common sense solutions and we as Republicans must respond.

RMC will work across party lines to safeguard the true intent of the Roe decision, and we will keep up our fight for the GOP to rebuild based on the true “limited government” foundation of the Party.