Challenges stack up against Roe v. Wade

On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark case Roe v. Wade. Over the past 32 years, an entire generation has been born and grown to adulthood under the delicate compromise that is Roe — a sensible balance that carefully considers the religious, ethical, scientific, medical, legal and social aspects of reproductive freedom. A sensible balance that notes that states have a compelling interest in protecting the unborn at viability and that women have the right to make personal choices before then.

This is the first American generation that has never known the terror of illegal abortion. This is the first generation that could make choices about a difficult pregnancy and not factor in the possibility of a woman dying or being permanently injured. This is the first generation that could make real progress, in many ways, toward fulfilling the promise of reproductive freedom, which is a world where every child is born wanted and loved.

Unfortunately, it appears that this promise is about to be broken. The evidence is simply too clear to ignore.

There’s the president. George W. Bush made his intentions clear early in his national political career. On the campaign trail in 2000, candidate Bush pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — the justices most adamantly opposed to a woman’s right to make childbearing decisions in private. As president, his picks for the lower federal courts thus far indicate a clear preference for ideological, no-choice judges.

There’s the Senate. The Republicans in charge are making moves to change longstanding Senate rules so judges can be confirmed with a simple majority rather than requiring 60 votes.

There’s the federal abortion ban. The ban, which was challenged and found unconstitutional by all three district courts in which it was heard, is poised to be appealed to the Supreme Court whenever the U.S. attorney general decides to send it to them.

And, finally, there’s the Supreme Court itself. Roe is supported by a razor-thin margin of one vote on the current court. Realistically, given the age and health of the court’s members, it is likely President Bush will be in a position to appoint at least one and possibly more Supreme Court justices.

So what happens when Roe v. Wade is overturned?

The truth is that Roe did not invent abortion, nor does it promote abortion. The truth is that the rate of abortion has barely changed since Roe was decided. The truth is that abortion will not just go away. Abortion will simply become illegal, harmful and dangerous once again.

In a post-Roe world, once again, wealthy families will be able to access safe, sanitary abortion services by traveling to countries where abortion is still legal. Once again, families of more modest means will be faced with perilous choices when circumstances make continuing a pregnancy irresponsible, impossible or heartbreaking.

In a post-Roe world, the social and public health challenges will be far-ranging. But we must face them because the alternative — more unwanted children, women jailed or crippled or dead — is not our American Dream.

Our best hope for addressing these challenges lies in developing strategies that honestly and effectively address the biggest factor in abortion, which is unintended pregnancy. Fully 49 percent of the pregnancies in the United States every year are unintended and almost half of these are terminated by abortion. Reducing unintended pregnancies will reduce the numbers of abortions sought.

The strategies for reducing unintended pregnancy need to be specific and targeted. Family planning programs like the Washington Medicaid program Take Charge will be critical for reaching low-income families with information, education, and contraceptive services. Increasing access to emergency contraception (EC – the morning after pill) by making it over the counter will provide back-up protection and, making EC readily available to rape survivors in hospital emergency rooms will protect against further trauma.

One of the best and most effective strategies for reducing unintended pregnancy among teens is to make sure that our young people have comprehensive sex education. This includes medically accurate, age appropriate course content that encourages abstinence, improves decision-making and refusal skills, and teaches about effective contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted infection in an open, honest, respectful manner.

In a post-Roe world, it will be crucial for us to ensure that our youth have the information and skills they need to make life-long, responsible decisions about sex. Because in a post-Roe world, ignorance will not be bliss, it will be deadly.