Wendy Long, a conservative judicial activist challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said yesterday that no one would miss Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, if it were overturned. Long clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and served as a counsel for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, but is perhaps best known for spearheading several inaccurate race baiting attacks against Justice Sonia Sotomayor during her confirmation process.

Long made the abortion comment to Capital New York’s Reid Pillfant at the Manhattan GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner last night:

“I think there is a universal understanding among the legal community that Roe v. Wade was a very flawed legal decision,” she said. “It’s a horrible decision from a constitutional law standpoint, and even liberal law professors will tell you that.

“I believe that the issue of abortion should be left to the people to decide. The Constitution doesn’t mention the word abortion. So I think that’s what it’s really all about. And if Roe v. Wade were overturned tomorrow, nobody would even notice, because the states are legislating their own laws about abortion, completely independent.”

Republican-controlled legislatures are attempting to restrict women’s access to abortion services, but Roe is preventing them from outlawing abortion entirely. Should the precedent be overturned, a lot of women would almost certainly notice as plenty of states would criminalize the procedure.

Rick and Karen Santorum claimed that fears about how the Affordable Care Act would affect their youngest daughter’s medical condition inspired them to embark on their campaign for the presidency and suggested that the law would ration care to sicker or disabled Americans. “What did it for me was Obamacare,” Karen said in explaining her support for Rick’s decision to pursue the White House on Glenn Beck’s show. “Because we have as you know a little angel, little Bella, special needs little girl, and when Obamacare passed, that was it, that put the fire in my belly.” Rick agreed, arguing that the law would ration care based on the “usefulness” of an individual:

BECK: How much of a danger are the most vulnerable in our society if Obamacare actually kicks in and the whole bell curve…

R. SANTORUM: It’s all about utilization, right? It’s all about how do we best allocate resources where they are most effectively used? [...] Government allocating resources best on how to get the best bang for your dollars and it’s all about utility. It’s all about the usefulness of the person to society, instead of the dignity of every human life and the opportunity for people who love and care for people to give them the best possibility to have the best possible life.

Watch it:

But the Affordable Care Act actually prevents insurance carriers from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions (and disabilities), prohibits health plans from putting a lifetime dollar limit on benefits and specifically invests in programs for people with disabilities. For instance, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has “announced $2.25 billion to extend the existing Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program, which is designed to facilitate people with disabilities staying in their communities instead of being placed in institutional settings” and has provided additional funding for aging and disability resource centers and other programs for sicker Americans. This why groups like the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Organization For Rare Disorders, and The Arc of the United States not only support the law, but have filed an amicus brief in its defense.

Fortunately, the ACA already prevents insurers from limiting or denying benefits to children, meaning that Bella would be able to find insurance coverage if the family loses their policy.

Women’s health care has dominated political discussions as GOP-controlled state legislatures consider legislation to extremely curtail women’s access to abortions and right-wing leaders claim the Obama administration is infringing on religious liberty for requiring employer insurance plans to cover contraception at no charge (even though accommodations exempt churches and religiously affiliated institutions).

But it seems that some Republicans think their party has gone too far. Yesterday, Virginia legislators backed away from a “personhood” measure and the state’s conservative governor removed his support for an extreme ultrasound bill. Even Pat Buchanan, a leader on social issues within the party and a former GOP presidential candidate, this morning warned that Republicans like Rick Santorum are overreaching in their opposition to contraception.

On C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Buchanan described the debate over contraception as “beyond the political realm”:

I think if you get down into where [Santorum's] been discussing it on the merits and demerits of contraception…that’s a moral issue. [...] We talked about that in college endlessly, but I think you move into an area where people don’t understand yet and where it’s beyond the political realm. And I think that’s where Santorum has gone and gotten himself. He’s gotten himself tied up in some of these arguments, and I don’t think he’s handled them with clarity.

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And Buchanan weighed in on the ultrasound legislation from which Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) had backtracked earlier this week. “I can understand why McDonnell did what he did,” he said. “To support that invasive procedure would probably politically costly undeniably, and Gov. McDonnell is not a foolish politician.”

When even Buchanan, who has his own history of extreme opinions, thinks it’s a wise move to back away from an anti-abortion measure, social conservatives have gone too far in their opposition to women’s health.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) disputed the notion that he’s spending too much time legislating social policy during this morning Politico forum, as he continued to distance himself from a measure that would have required women to undergo an invasive transvaginal ultrasound before receiving an abortion. Under the proposed policy, most women seeking seeking an abortion would have been forced to have a procedure, “in which a probe is inserted into the vagina, and then moved around until an ultrasound image is produced.”

The governor explained that he has focused on “getting our budgets under control” and “jobs,” not social policy, and claimed that he hadn’t read the original provision before publicly endorsing it. McDonnell also added that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative powerhouse within the Republican party, advised him that the measure was unconstitutional:

MCDONNELL: We realized there were different kinds of ultrasounds and so what I recommended to the General Assembly, and they adopted the other day, is let’s make the requirement for the abdominal ultrasound… I also got legal advice from various people, including my Attorney General, that these kinds of mandatory invasive requirements might run afoul of Fourth Amendment law. So those were the reasons…After talking to lawyers and doctors on my own, after we started hearing some concerns int he legislature, I personally looked at it. I mean, normally a governor would review these hundreds of hundreds of bills when they get to your desk. You’re so busy advocating your own agenda, you don’t read every legislator’s bill. But I was certainly supportive of that concept.

Watch it:

Until the bill attracted national media attention and frustrated some in the Republican party, however, “McDonnell and his aides had said the governor would sign the measure if it made it to his desk.” Since then, he issued a statement claiming that “Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state” and offered an amendment that would not force women to receive the procedure. Studies have shown that viewing an ultrasound does not change a woman’s mind before an abortion and only adds to the cost of the procedure.

The Virginia House and a Senate committee have passed the ultrasound bill with the governor’s substitute language.

Indiana Republican Rep. Bob Morris has become the butt of late night jokes and ridicule after he wrote a letter to colleagues claiming that the Girl Scouts was a “radicalized organization” that supports abortions and the homosexual agenda. Morris initially stood by his remarks, saying on Tuesday, “My family and I took a view and we’re sticking by it. … My girls are no longer Girl Scouts. They’re now going to join American Heritage Girls.” But now, as the pressure has mounted, Morris is apologizing for the tone of his comments, even as some pro-life groups are rallying to his cause.

In a written statement to The Journal-Gazette of Fort Wayne on Thursday, Morris said, “I realize now that my words were emotional, reactionary and inflammatory. For that I sincerely apologize. … I certainly should not have painted the entire Girl Scouts organization with such a wide brush.” He explained, “Had I known this letter would have gone to a wider audience, I would have cited further evidence for my position,” adding that he still stood by his decision not to sign on to a resolution honoring the organization.

But conservative groups like Indiana Right to Life and the American Family Foundation are coming to Morris’ defense, claiming that a Planned Parenthood sexuality educator “developed programs for young Scouts”:

Specifically, the group, which opposes abortion rights, cites a link from the city of Bloomington’s website where a woman was nominated posthumously for a lifetime achievement award in the community.

“(She) started with Planned Parenthood in Bloomington where she worked for many years as a health and sexuality educator, and helped initiate the Family Life Education program for Girl Scouts ages five to 18 throughout a twelve-county area,” the website read.

Mike Fichter, Indiana Right to Life president and chief executive officer, said the ties between the groups could not be clearer.

The American Family Association also attacked Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma “for mocking the controversy surrounding Morris” by buying 278 cases of Girl Scouts Cookies and distributing them to fellow lawmakers. In an email sent to its members, the group asks them to contact Bosma and question his actions. “It appears as though Speaker Bosma has more zeal for bad behavior than he does for doing what is right,” the association’s email read. “Or perhaps it is just that he seems to be more interested in mocking a conservative more than he is fighting his true ideological opponents on the political left.”

Last month, a Catholic parish in Virginia banned local Girl Scout troops from parish facilities over its alleged ties to Planned Parenthood. “St. Timothy Catholic Parish in Chantilly says Girl Scouts will not be permitted to meet or wear uniforms on church property, including at St. Timothy School, which covers preschool to grade 8.”

Both the Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood deny any affiliation.