The argument that never ends
In the 30 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, abortion in this country has become safe, legal, and anything but rare. It has, in fact, become one of the most common surgical procedures in the nation, so common that should the current rate continue, about 35 percent of all U.S. women will have an abortion in their lifetimes.
To some this represents an American holocaust, a mass murder of the unborn that has claimed more than 39 million lives since the Supreme Court made abortion legal on Jan. 22, 1973.
To others, it represents the ability of women to control their own bodies and destinies and to maintain a right of privacy free from the intervention of government.
That which the Supreme Court creates, however, the Supreme Court can abolish, and both sides think Roe is vulnerable if President Bush gets to make appointments to the high court.
In the last election, Bush said he would not use abortion as a litmus test for his court nominees. "Voters should assume that I have no litmus test on that issue or any other issue," he said during his Oct. 3, 2000, presidential debate with Al Gore. "The voters will know I'll put competent judges on the bench, people who will strictly interpret the Constitution and will not use the bench to write social policy."
Bush also made clear he opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother, and he campaigned on the promise to find "common ground to reduce the number of abortions in America."
Free-for-all. Even without common ground, however, the rate of abortion in this country has fallen to the lowest level since 1974, in substantial part because of the increased use of "emergency contraception," the so-called morning-after pill. But what would happen if Americans awoke one morning to find that the high court had overturned Roe v. Wade and the 50 states were now free to ban abortions?
"If there is any chance that Roe v. Wade is overturned, expect revolution in the streets," says Ann Stone, national chair of Republicans for Choice. "You would have mass demonstrations and there would be such a severe political backlash it would drive Republican women out of the party again. Women came back this last time because of homeland defense and the belief they had nothing to fear from George W. Bush on abortion. Trust me, the White House knows this. The White House is not rah-rah for overturning abortion."
Shortly after Bush took office, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said, "I don't believe he feels that he'll be able to eliminate abortions," adding that while ending abortion was "a high moral priority" for Bush, it was not a high public-policy priority. Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, says he is "cautiously optimistic," however, that Bush will be able to overturn Roe v. Wade through his appointments to the Supreme Court, though the court is not always predictable. While many expected the court to overturn Roe in its ruling on Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, the court did not do so. The court used Casey to restrict abortion, but its decision also reflected how powerful a force abortion had become in this country. Even though six justices had said that Roe had been incorrectly decided, a majority coalition of five justices nevertheless reaffirmed Roe, saying American women had come to rely upon abortion. Connor notes that some of the justices who reaffirmed Roe had been appointed by conservative presidents. "There is something about getting a lifetime appointment and donning a black robe that makes people less than predictable," Connor says.
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