I am in a position to test as much as needed. I am attempting to get
Gentoo's ARM/MIPS/Embedded distribution up to date on Python, and
noticed this build break. (Typically most embedded architectures are
several releases behind.)

I'll try this new patch right now.

As for it only being with OABI, that's correct, and yes, it will
decrease in numbers as time goes on, since most higher-end embedded
processors are EABI currently. 

The concerns are valid, I understand, but since it seems to be a
relatively minor change, I wouldn't see the real harm in this case,
especially since otherwise Python seems to work just fine under ARM OABI. 

But yes, if you're looking at it from a perspective as if it will still
be used prevalently in 3-5 years, it's use will be minor, with OABI
especially, but that's always the trend in embedded architectures.

Regardless, I'm very grateful for both Aurelian Jarno and Mark Dickinson
for coming up with a patch that works to get me past my build breaks.