I wish they could be converted to our side. I think we could use their numbers, except those who've drunk the 
Posted on 10/01/2005 11:50:39 PM PDT by neverdem
WITH the confirmation last week of John G. Roberts Jr. as chief justice of the United States, eyes turned to President Bush's next judicial nominee, who, on a closely divided court, may determine the fate of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that recognized a woman's right to an abortion. But such speculation overlooks a paradox in the abortion wars: while combatants focus on the law, technology is already changing the future of abortion, with or without the Supreme Court.
Even if the court restricts or eliminates the right to an abortion, the often-raised specter of a return to back-alley abortions is not likely to be realized, said Dr. Beverly Winikoff, president of Gynuity Health Services, a nonprofit group that supports access to abortion. "The conditions that existed before 1973 were much different than what they are in 2005," she said. "We have better antibiotics now and better surgical treatments."
But no change is bigger than the advent of an inexpensive drug called misoprostol, which the federal Food and Drug Administration approved for treatment of ulcers in 1988, but which has been used in millions of self-administered abortions worldwide. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, freeing states to ban abortion, this common prescription drug, often known by the brand name Cytotec, could emerge as a cheap, relatively safe alternative to the practices that proliferated before Roe.
"We won't go back to the days of coat hangers and knitting needles," said Dr. Jerry Edwards, an abortion provider in Little Rock, Ark. "Rich women will fly to California; poor women will use Cytotec."
Because it was never intended for...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
ping
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
This being the case, then what's their worry?
Profit.
I doubt they can charge $450 for a fistful of Zyklon.
Oh yes, I forgot that Murder Inc. is profit driven too.
I wish they could be converted to our side. I think we could use their numbers, except those who've drunk the
This is their platform. Remove their platform and they have nothing to run on.
Abortion is all they have to run on. They're against everything else, and most of their issues (notably poverty and education) that they could count on have been hijacked by the Republicans and crafted into Conservative ideals.
This is their platform. Remove their platform and they have nothing to run on.
Good points, but I don't know. I wonder if that works both ways. If abortion is outlawed, some pro-life groups may "stand down" or turn to other issues; membership and funding may fall once people believe that the goal has been achieved. (This is, in fact, what happened to groups like NARAL once Roe v. Wade was decided.) On the other hand, some pro-choice groups not only may "stand up" but gain membership and more funding. (This is, in fact, what happened to Operation Rescue and other groups once Roe v. Wade was decided.)
The so-called abortion war is definitely not a zero sum game in political terms.
Yeah. I think we're ultimately going to take a hit on the abortion issue, however it goes.
Should Roe get overturned, we'll feel a backlash from the pro-Roe majority in this country, exacerbated by a lot of the pro-lifers who'll quit us feeling their job is done.
If Roe doesn't get overturned (and that's my bet for how it will play out) then we'll be faced with a bunch of disenchanted evangelicals who'll leave the party in frustration, sinking us come election time.
Either way, we're going to get kicked on the issue in some future election cycle.
Laws will not stop one single abortion.
Best to spend time and money on persuasion rather than to think that activist judges are the answer.
I would also be surprised if Roe gets overturned. I suspect that the powers that be in the GOP don't really want it, being worried that they might lose the moderate voters who keep them in office. We've had more than a decade of Republican power without much progress. The USSC has had a (sort of) conservative majority for a long time. If Roe is safe, it's not because the liberals are protecting it.
-Laws will not stop one single abortion.-
Totally agree. It's a much deeper problem than can be solved with a simple law. The real issue is a lack of decent moral judgment.
I disagree.
If we win on Roe --- the issue turns to the states. That means the pro-life crowd turns its eye towards the states and Republicans create more Red States.
If Roe doesn't change --- the pro-life crowd will not abandon the Republican Party, they will just be more selective with whom is supported as the nominee. That would result in a more conservative Republican Party and a victory for us.
How do you figure that math? Most people want abortion in this country.
If Roe doesn't change --- the pro-life crowd will not abandon the Republican Party, they will just be more selective with whom is supported as the nominee.
I don't think so. A lot of the pro-life crowd aren't really conservatives outside the abortion issue, or they simply have no interest in politics beyond seeing that Roe is overturned. If these people end up feeling betrayed by the failure of the people they voted for to do what they wanted, they'll become disillusioned and leave.
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