What Republicans Really Mean By Local Political Leaders Making Abortion Policy Is Death Panels

Republican candidates are already floating the idea that local political leaders should have panels to decide if a woman can get an abortion.

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For example,  here is a transcript of  New Hampshire Republican US House candidate Robert Burns in a 2018 interview on public access television floating his abortion death panels idea:

Host: When you say you’re pro-life, what do you mean?

Burns: I’m 100% pro-life from conception.

Host: OK. How about in the life of the defense of the mother?

Burns: The life of the – well, the problem is, when we start using “life of the mother” ― you know, “life of the mother” absolutely has to mean – and I’ve talked about this before – you need a panel to look at it. Not because like, “my life is going to change” or “psychologically, I can’t handle that.” Because this is what they try to put in there.

Absolutely, there’s a few cases where, in fact, it is life or death: a woman comes down with cancer and she can’t get chemotherapy without having an abortion, or what have you. In those cases, I believe we would need a panel in this sort of situation. And we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. We haven’t totally gained control of the Supreme Court yet, but in those cases, then I would say yes, you know, you’re trading a life for a life. You can’t say that you’re pro-life but one life is worth more than the other life.

Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) has introduced legislation to protect fetuses and embryos from the moment of fertilization.

When Dr. Oz said during the Pennsylvania Senate debate that local elected leaders should be in charge of abortion policy, he meant that the mayor, governor, town council, or county commissioners should get to decide whether or not a woman can get life-saving medical care.

Pregnancy As The Modern Form Of Slavery

Republicans have taken the mentality of people as property from the blight on America’s past that is slavery and applied to women’s reproductive healthcare. In the modern Republican view, it is not women who are property, but the fertilized egg inside her body. If she gets pregnant, a woman is no longer an equal human being, and what happens to the fertilized egg is not her decision but that of local political leaders.

Read this collection of ads from slaveowners demanding assistance in the recapture of runaway slaves, and it quickly becomes evident that Republicans share a common mentality with slave owners.

The idea is the same. Slaves were not considered people with a right to self-determination, and in 2022 Republicans view women similarly.

In six days, Sarah Palin’s death panels could become a reality across the country for millions of women, as Republicans want to create a dehumanizing system that echoes slavery.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association