The Observer, March 24, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 21
Free Speech Zone: South Dakota decision detrimental to Roe v. Wade, as well as the secular ideologies of the United States
On March 6, in South Dakota, Governor Mike Rounds signed a law which would ban abortions in nearly all cases, effectively doing his part in the effort to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That decision, supposedly in effect throughout the country, still holds precedent over the South Dakota law. What Governor Rounds signed on March 6 is the equivalent of a constitutional smart bomb, designed specifically to work its way through the courts, eventually arrive at the Supreme Court, and ideally (for those in the pro-life camp) overturn Roe. The real issue with regards to this case is how far the pro-life movement will be able to push its agenda. Even prominent conservatives have admitted that abortion is simply a "wedge issue" designed to get the agenda of the religious right into the mainstream on a whole range of issues. However, the fact that this issue is the epicenter of this great "culture war" necessitates that social liberals refute the arguments of conservatives and prevent a recession of legal rights and distinctions that have been the bedrock of American constitutional law for decades. This argument can be conducted in both legal and ideological terms.
Legally speaking, any abortion ban passed by an individual state is meaningless. However, as a means of circumventing the Roe decision, conservative states have passed laws which constrain access to abortions or require the woman to endure a number of trials designed to discourage the choice to abort the pregnancy. This ranges by state but includes waiting periods, requiring minors to notify parents or wives to notify husbands before aborting the pregnancy. Further measures that conservatives are attempting to pass through on the state level would call for the mother to get an ultrasound before having an abortion or requiring doctors to notify the mother that fetuses can feel pain in the later months of the pregnancy. In fact, many states such as South Dakota and Mississippi, only have one operational abortion clinic which is perpetually surrounded with pro-life activists who harass women entering the clinics in an attempt to change the woman's decision.
Still, with all these restrictions in place, Roe is still essential. According to an Associated Press (AP) article from October, the Center for Reproductive Rights rated 21 states at "high risk" of banning abortion if the national standards of Roe were removed. And, lo and behold, Ohio made the list. All that is preventing Ohio from outlawing abortion is a 33 year-old Supreme Court ruling which is in great danger of being overturned. In fact, the only thing preventing Roe from being reversed is the continued existence of 85 year-old Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. If he dies, or retires, and a conservative is put in his place, kiss your abortion rights goodbye. All of this would be contrary to studies which show that Roe is still supported by a majority of Americans. 66 percent of Americans polled are opposed to overturning the ruling to be exact, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, with only 25 percent in favor of overturning.
Aside from all the legal squabbles, the movement against abortion should be opposed on a more basic, ideological level. Any attempt to outlaw abortion any time before, say, the fifth month of a pregnancy, is unquestionably based on a strict Christian definition of human life beginning at conception. While anyone is perfectly within his or her rights to believe that life begins at conception, asking the government, an ideally secular and unbiased institution, to accept any kind of religious dogma as fact and policy is not only immoral, it is blatantly domineering. So, if you are inclined to oppose the attempt by conservatives to propel America back into the 19th century, please inform yourself on these issues and actively oppose the totalitarian effort to transition Christian beliefs into the legal and moral framework of this country.
