Roundup: What Will Brown Do For You?

Yes, it's over.  Scott Brown is senator-elect from the state of Massachusetts (Trust me, I'm from Minnesota.  I know ALL about proper terminology for a senator that has won the election but has yet to be sworn in.) Anti-abortion groups across the nation are cheering the victory of their new standard bearer.  But once they get to know him, will there be any buyers remorse?

According to Catholic News Agency, Brown's victory over his Democratic challenger Martha Coakley was in effect a win FOR women.

Several prominent pro-life leaders are responding to Scott Brown's Senate victory in Massachusetts last night, with one saying that Brown's success is a “win” for American women.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life political action group Susan B. Anthony List said on Wednesday that “The election of Scott Brown is no accident,” and that “The American people have spoken tonight.”

“Martha Coakley's defeat is not a setback for women in politics, it is a victory,” the SBA List president said.

She went on to call Scott Brown's success “a win for the majority of American women who demand authentic representation that reflects commonsense pro-life views, like abortion funding restrictions and conscience protections.”

“Abortion is never good for women,” Dannenfelser asserted , “and it should never be a legitimate aspect of any 'health care' debate.”

However, as the Washington Post reminds us, Brown really isn't an anti-abortion candidate, and abortion really had little to do with his election.

Ron Kaufman, the longtime Republican National Committee member from Massachusetts, said that "it was a perfect storm" that made it possible.

"We had a really good candidate," Kaufman said. "A military veteran, a family guy, a fiscal conservative, moderate on social issues, a pro-choice Catholic. But it was bigger than that. The Democrats didn't understand that people here are very upset with the way things are going in Washington, just as they are elsewhere. They see big sums being spent, big deficits piling up, and they want to send a message."

In fact, he had a tendancy to waver when actually supporting some key anti-choice legislation.

He once proposed an amendment which would have allowed emergency room doctors to deny emergency contraception to rape victims based on the doctor's religious beliefs, which drew the ire of fellow Republicans. But, Brown voted for the final version of the bill without the amendment. 

Some columnists are already warning the right that their newest poster boy might not be the all they were hoping for.

Scott Brown will join the Senate's small abortion rights Republican caucus -- he supports Roe v. Wade, though he also backs some restrictions on abortion -- but his win is still being welcomed by a long list of anti-abortion groups, whose statements you can read here.

“Martha Coakley’s extreme embrace of abortion may have endeared her to EMILY’s List and the abortion lobby, but it did little to win votes today," said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser, rubbing in the defeat in a race that Coakley tried to make about reproductive rights.

There's a limit to this, of course: Brown shares far more with Coakley than with Dannenfelser, as far as his positions go, and his defense wasn't to reassert anti-abortion values -- it was that he supports abortion rights.

I guess we will see how long the anti-choice activists enjoy their newest addition.

Mini Roundup: This is how to talk about abortion. This is how to not talk about abortion.  Better luck next time, Sen. Hutchison.

January 21, 2010

Turning a blind eye to abortion stats? Chicago Daily Herald

Kline's questionable actions resurface Kansas City Star

The Abortion Answer Texas Tribune

NARAL Va. Investigates Pro-Life Pregancy Centers WAMU

January 20, 2010

Roe v. Wade anniversary to be marked with flags Coshocton Tribune

At 84, pro-life leader and March for Life pioneer Nellie Gray marches on Catholic San Francisco

Pro-life leaders cheer Brown's win over Coakley Catholic News Agency

CBS Agrees To Air Pro-Life Focus on the Family Superbowl Spot Huffington Post

Pro-Life is a misdirection Amador Ledger-Dispatch

2010 Pro-Life Marches Take on New Significance Christian Post

Idea of the Day: Integrate Reproductive Health Services and Family Planning ... Center For American Progress

Sugar-coated lie Daily Pioneer

Canada fast-tracks adoptions of Haiti children AFP

New adoptions in Haiti must stop: British charities AFP

Brown record doesn't always match everyman image Washington Post

Virginia Pro-Abortion Group Attacks Pregnancy Centers Helping Pregnant Women LifeNews.com

Entering the Abortion Debate at Notre Dame TIME

Anti-abortion groups welcome Brown Politico

Law and Order Actors Pitch Abortion in Health Care for Planned Parenthood Video LifeNews.com

Pro Choice, Anti Abortion Groups To Square Off By Ferry Building Saturday The San Francisco Appeal

Massachusetts election is a wake-up call for Democrats Washington Post

Stupak is Back: Why Abortion Will Be A Key Issue as Health Care Reform Moves ... Newsweek

Follow Robin Marty on Twitter, @robinmarty