Say Sayonara to Abortion-Time to get that Abortion you've been putting off

SAY SAYONARA TO ABORTION
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By Ted Rall
1 hour, 48 minutes ago
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NEW YORK--Now is a superb time to get that abortion you've been putting off.

Officially, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' opinion of Roe v. Wade is "opaque," "mysterious," or--my favorite--just "unknown." But if I'm no genius, it doesn't take one to suss out how Roberts will vote when the next big abortion case hits his docket.

Three facts indicate that Roberts' confirmation spells the end of Roe v. Wade, the decision guaranteeing American women the right to an abortion.

First: Despite repeated denials, it's clear that Sandra Day O'Connor's shoo-in replacement is an active member of the Federalist Society, the far-right cadre of scary college kids who worship Ayn Rand, dress like Tucker Carlson and care deeply about your sex life. "Many key policymakers in the Bush administration are acknowledged current or former members," reports the Washington Post. "In conservative circles, membership in or association with the society has become a badge of ideological and political reliability." The group takes a hard line against abortion, comparing Roe v. Wade to the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision defining slaves as property.

Second: Roberts' wife is a militant anti-abortion activist, a member and ex-board member of a Catholic group called "Feminists for Life." She performs pro bono legal work for the group's pro-life agenda. Democrats, Republicans and even NARAL Pro-Choice America say that that doesn't mean anything--"My wife has opinions on things that may or may not conform with mine, and I think most couples are in that situation," says GOP Senator Rick Santorum--but it does. Even before being tapped for the high court Roberts was an ambitious, well-connected judicial up-and-comer in right-wing Washington political circles. If he felt annoyed or embarrassed by the sight of his wife waving bloody fetus photos outside Planned Parenthood clinics, he would have asked her to cut it out. (Pun intended, yet undeleted.)

Third: Americans, including many Republicans, are pro-choice. The ABC/Washington Post poll says the numbers haven't changed since 1995--55 percent say abortion should be "legal in all or most cases," 25 percent "in some cases," and only 17 percent not at all. And pro-choicers are more likely to consider the issue when voting than pro-lifers. Given the popularity of abortion rights, the Bush Administration would have told us if Roberts were neutral or pro-choice. They're not. He's neither.

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In a sick way, the end of Roe v. Wade may turn out to be a net positive for America. For one thing, Roe was a legally dubious decision based on flawed constitutional logic. Rather than pass abortion rights into law, 14 cowardly congresses and seven weasely presidents have relied on the 1973 ruling to avoid taking political fire from the Bible-thumpers.

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