McManus -
Ethics & Religion
January 24, 2007
Column #1,326
Advance for January 27, 2007
(First of a three-part series)
News in the Pro-Life Movement
by Michael J. McManus
WASHINGTON - There is news in the Pro-Life Movement.
At a rally of the March For Life on the 34th anniversary of the "Roe v. Wade"
Supreme Court decision, on the snow-covered Mall in front of the Capitol one of
the first speakers was Georgette Forney co-founder of "SilentNoMoreAwareness(.org)
Campaign.
"We are here being silent no more, helping raise the awareness of the reality of
what happens not only to the baby, but to the women and men left behind. Part
of us dies with them," she told 100,000 people who braved freezing
temperatures, On either side of her were women holding signs, "I REGRET MY
ABORTION." One man also held a sign, "I REGRET MY LOST FATHERHOOD."
Ms. Forney added, "They are standing courageously to say...that if you had an
abortion and are dealing with nightmares, depression, addiction to alcohol or
drugs, you are not alone. There is help and healing. This afternoon, in front
of the Supreme Court, 50 men and women will share their testimony about how
abortion hurt them."
For years, the abortion debate has been about the rights of "unborn babies" vs.
those of women who choose an abortion. But there is a new activism of groups
like Silent No More that is changing the subject to focus on how abortion hurts
many women.
What was more surprising to me was the upbeat mood of the crowd despite the
crushing political defeat of many pro-life legislators in the House and Senate.
A Democratic Congress will not pass pro-life laws. What was the source of their
hope?
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, told a crowd at a Mass the
night before at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, "The American
people are becoming more pro-life. According to a very significant poll last
year, general support for "Roe v. Wade" fell under 50 percent for the first time
since 1973. Most Americans do not support Roe v Wade and are against allowing
most of the abortions the Court has made legal."
"The Wall Street Journal" reported last May that the Supreme Court's historic
decision is supported by a slim 49 percent of the public, down from 52 percent
in 2005 and 57 percent in 1998, according to the Harris Poll.
When asked if they favor permitting a woman to have an abortion in "all
circumstances," only 24 percent agreed, down from 30 percent in 1993. True,
only 20 percent were opposed to it in all circumstances, but 53 percent want it
available only in some circumstances.
More important that these modest shifts of opinion is the fact that the Supreme
Court has allowed states to pass laws which have limited the availability of
abortion. Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, notes that 34
states have passed laws requiring parents of minors to be notified or even
consent to an abortion for their minor child.
Laws were also passed and being enforced in 27 states requiring that a woman be
given information about her abortion, the gestational stage of the child in her
womb and possible risks so that she could give "informed consent" before the
abortion was carried out.
Another 11 states outlawed "Partial Birth Abortions," in which a live baby, who
could survive outside the womb, is killed during delivery. After its body is
delivered doctors crush its brains before the head emerges from the mother.
True, the law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2000. However, Congress
passed a Partial Birth Abortion Law that was signed by President Bush. And the
Supreme Court is reconsidering the issue after hearing arguments last November.
Bush named two new Justices who are likely to vote pro-life.
The result is that the number of abortions fell from a peak of 1.6 million in
1990 to 1.3 million a decade later, and have remained at that level.
Dr. Michael J. New wrote a paper for the Heritage Foundation last year which
attributes at least part of the decline to "the impact of state pro-life
legislation." The drop of abortions has been particularly significant among
teenagers, a 33 percent decline since 1991. The percentage of sexually active
teenagers has fallen, and teen births are down 21 percent, though America's teen
birth rate is still far above other developed nations.
These encouraging trends have persisted even though courts overturned six of the
parental involvement laws.
Conventional wisdom is, "You can't legislate morality." This progress proves
that wrong.
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