Abortion is one of the most controversial and divisive issues in American politics today, perhaps in our entire history.

Yet why has no side been able to make any headway despite decades of debate? Why does the same battle play itself out in all levels and branches of government, most recently manifesting itself in the threatened shutdown of the government over the funding of Planned Parenthood?

This lack of change could simply be attributed to the stubbornness of humanity, or to the possibility that it takes people decades or even centuries for opinions to shift. While these are certainly a factor, there is another reason why abortion laws are unlikely to change any time soon: half of the nation does not believe the pro-life movement to be pro-life.

If any pro-life individual were to be asked under normal circumstances why they hold the stance they do, the most likely response is that they believe a fetus to be a human being and abortion to be violation of human rights.

If the comments of a pro-life politician were to be examined, fear mongering over the moral and sexual purity of the nation would be just as common as the mention of protecting life. Since the party with the strongest pro-life sentiment, the Republicans, rely significantly upon an older, more religious base, they frame most of the discussion about abortion in terms that help them to rile up their base.

Republicans understand that their base is opposed to the looser sexual lifestyle that has been permitted since the sexual revolution of the 60s through the 80s, so they treat abortion as a battleground on which they can fight back.

The younger, more secular base of Democrats, the party mostly in support of the pro-choice movement, sees this and uses it to undermine the pro-life claims that the debate is about protecting the rights of unborn children.

Time after time this point has derailed the pro-life movement. The most recent conflict over Planned Parenthood funding has also been marked by this trend. Besides abortions, Planned Parenthood also provides sexual education, sterilization, condoms, and other forms of contraception that do not violate pro-life standards but in fact decrease the number of abortions.

By opposing wholesale the services of Planned Parenthood, Republicans have only strengthened the pro-choice perception that they don’t really care about the lives of the unborn and just want to return America to the sexual standards of the Victorian era.

As is usual in a democracy, the answer is clearly compromise. The Republican party knows that unless there is a massive shift in the opinions of both the Supreme Court and Presidency, no progress will be made with their current tactics. Only by putting aside the momentary boost they get from stirring up their base can they make progress on the issue.

Republicans need to show that they are willing to tolerate the more moderate services provided by organizations like Planned Parenthood if it means advancing the true agenda of the pro-life movement: protecting the lives of unborn children.