At 02:40 PM 1/30/2003 -0600 Julia Thompson wrote:
>>Abortion opponents were furious about
>> being denied their say. Abortion supporters had to
>> rely on the precarious balance of power on the Supreme
>> Court. Legalisation did not have the legitimacy of
>> majority support. Instead, it rested on a highly
>> controversial interpretation of the constitution
>> (abortion rights are clearly not enshrined in the
>> constitution in the same plain way that free speech
>> is). By going down the legislative road, the Europeans
>> managed to neutralise the debate; by relying on the
>> hammer-blow of a Supreme Court decision, the Americans
>> institutionalised it.
>
>See, THAT's what was wrong with Roe v. Wade
Another point that the article doesn't mention quite enough, I think, is
that because the US legislation was set by Courts, not by legislatures, the
US actually has some of the most liberal abortion laws around. This has
permitted pro-lifers to make all kinds of inroads on the basis of things
like partial-birth abortion and late-term abortion. On the other hand, if
the US ended up with a European-style abortion law, that saw prohibited
abortion after the 10th week - the pro-life movement would probably not be
nearly as large and influential as it is today.
In keeping with that vain, allow me to make a prediction as to the "next
big thing" in abortion politics, once Congress passess the partial-birth
abortion ban later this year. The next cause will be the prohibition of
"gender selection" abortions, that is, prohibiting abortions because the
parents did not like the sex of their child. Just a prediction.
BTW - if you liked this article from The Economist, I strongly encourage
you to get a subscription, as this article was not atypical of their news
reporting. That, and their science reporting is top-notch.
JDG
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
