Every Stone

Why did O’Connor leave?

The court did not explicitly overturn any of its precedents, although Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the four dissenters, said the decision was “so at odds with our jurisprudence” that it “should not have staying power.” Justice Ginsburg called the decision “alarming” and said the majority’s “hostility” to the right to abortion was “not concealed.”

Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer signed Justice Ginsburg’s opinion, portions of which she read from the bench at a slow pace that caused every syllable to resonate.

When will the court be balanced again? The NYT article is still skipping over the main issues. Why is every advocate missing the constitutional, judicial, and personal reality of late-term abortion? Rosie O’Donnell missed these critical issues, and she got her stats very wrong. Most late-term abortions aren’t because of health. The percentage of women seeking late-term abortion who cite deformity or health risks. In the only thorough study of the reasons women seek abortion, one which deliberately over-sampled women seeking abortions after 21 weeks gestation, the 1987 AGI study published by the Guttmacher Institute, only 3 percent of women cited health, and another 3 percent health problems of the fetus, as their primary reason for the abortion:

The vast majority of respondents cited a variety of socioeconomic and family considerations as their main reasons for seeking an abortion. Most of the women reported that more than one factor contributed to their decision, with the average number of reaso ns being four. However, 3% of respondents said that the “most important reason” for their decision was concern for their own health, and another 3% cited concern that the fetus had a health problem.

Six percent is plenty for me, but it’s important that advocates and activists get the facts right to establish their credibility — and to avoid the hysterical/knee-jerk feminist/liberal stereotype.

Something all progressives should keep in mind in regard to abortion is why women seek abortions. No one is pro-abortion. We’re pro-choice. And, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said of this ruling, the legality of abortion is a socio-economic issue as well:

 In 1987 and 1995, AGI collected information nationally on the socioeconomic characteristics of approximately 10,000 women obtaining abortions. The results of the 1995 survey show that the women who are most likely to obtain an abortion have an annual inco me of less than $15,000, are enrolled in Medicaid, are aged 18-24, are nonwhite or Hispanic, are separated or never-married, live with a partner outside marriage and have no religious affiliation. Catholics are as likely as the general population of women to terminate a pregnancy, Protestants are less likely to do so, and Evangelical Christians are the least likely to do so.

The language I’ve liked most of any Democrat or Republican addressing abortion is that of Senator Kennedy:

If we are serious about reducing the number of abortions, we must be serious about reducing unwanted pregnancy. We must accept policies with a proven track record of reducing abortion. History teaches that abortions do not stop because they are made illegal. Indeed, half of all abortions in the world are performed in places where abortions are illegal.

We do know, however, that the number of abortions is reduced when women and parents have education and economic opportunity. Our progressive vision is of an America where parents have the opportunity and the resources, including good prenatal care, to bring healthy children into the world.

He’s casting reproductive education and choice in a prevention context, but he takes it further to economic and educational opportunity.