The US midterm elections have been an absolute shocker. In light of the Roe V Wade overturn, and the overall rise in right-wing sentiment, the elections were expected to be a storm of red - a certified win for the Republicans. Instead, it appeared there was but a light drizzle of red with Republicans failing to win the majority in the Senate and only just winning over the House of Representatives with a whopping 3 seat majority - 218 Republicans to 212 Democrats.
But is this enough for Biden to push through his promised abortion laws? Laws that will save women’s lives.
The US system of government is hopelessly and unnecessarily complicated, both at federal and state level - it is a war-zone of political gridlock. And now, because the Republicans have won control of the House of Representatives back from the Democrats, that disabling gridlock will only become more pronounced. In effect, that means that the Republicans will be able to block laws and potentially even stop them from getting a vote on the House floor.
On the issue of abortion, this is undoubtedly inevitable. Abortion is no longer an issue of female rights: it is a politicised term allowing for male, and governmental, control of the female body - and, above all, an issue that appeals to Republican voters. It has become one of the defining issues of US politics. For Republicans to vote in favour of abortion would mean placing themselves in opposition to the right-wing electorate upon whom they rely for their democratic power. And, if there’s one thing we know about politicians, it’s that they will place their personal need for power above all else.
However, there is still a slim hope that the future of women can be saved in the US from the red dresses and white wings of Margaret Atwood’s painfully accurate dystopia. Three seats is only a very small majority, and, unlike in the UK, there is less pressure to vote along party lines - surely some Republicans could stop being hostile towards women for just one, very important vote?
However, there is still a slim hope that the future of women can be saved in the US from the red dresses and white wings of Margaret Atwood’s painfully accurate dystopia
There is, after all, a history of Republicans voting for actual beneficial, almost progressive legislation. Just recently, 12 Republicans voted alongside the Democrats in support of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin”. If the right of gay and interracial marriage can be enshrined in federal law (a massive step for America), then why not abortion?
But, Republicans are Republicans, and we will have to wait until the new Congress reconvenes in January to know whether women will be legally recognised as the only people who should be in control of their own bodies. Until then, women will continue to suffer, and the US will continue to ignore it.