Today's Choice Landscape

The 35^th anniversary of Roe is a good time to take a broad look at choice in America.

By Nancy Keenan
January 23, 2008

This week, pro-choice Americans across the country commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide. This month I've been all over the country: delivering a major speech in Austin, Texas on what the future holds for the choice movement, and I am currently in Denver, Colorado, where I’m speaking at a pro-choice rally. Everywhere I go, I find that people are optimistic and looking forward to the elections, but it's important to stop every so often and take a hard look at the state of reproductive choice in our country.

Last week, NARAL Pro-Choice America released the 17th annual “Who Decides? The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in the United States,” our comprehensive report on reproductive freedom, with analysis and tracking of choice-related legislation and court decisions. This report comes at a crucial time as Americans commemorate the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and look toward the 2008 elections.

 

This year’s report shows that the nation’s grade remains a dismal D-, but it also tells a story about how the 2006 elections altered the landscape for choice across the country. Women certainly still face numerous challenges to their right to choose, but the outcomes from the 2007 legislative sessions show how changing the composition of state legislatures and Congress can lead to strong pro-choice gains.

In 2007, 28 states enacted a total of 80 pro-choice measures, a 43 percent increase from 2006. States enacted 17 Prevention First* measures in 2007, an 89 percent increase from 2006. Minnesota and Oregon, two states where pro-choice forces made gains in the 2006 elections, enacted three Prevention First measures each, which was the most of any state. These wins reinforce our resolve to protect our gains. We must ensure that even more fair-minded leaders who will stand up for the values of freedom and privacy are in positions of power.

Unfortunately, while these pro-choice gains are significant and should be celebrated, anti-choice politicians continue to attack women’s access to safe, legal abortion and other reproductive health-care options. Clearly emboldened by the Supreme Court’s decision in April 2007 upholding the Bush Federal Abortion Ban, which has no provision protecting a woman’s health, anti-choice groups and anti-choice politicians took this decision as a green light to continue their far-right attacks. And why shouldn’t they? With the addition of two Bush appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the Court effectively reversed precedent and rolled back a key protection guaranteed since Roe. What’s to say they couldn’t get away with it again?

So attack they did.

Mississippi and North Dakota enacted near-total bans on abortion that will take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. In case you’re keeping count, that’s four states that have enacted such bans in just the last two years. Louisiana and South Dakota enacted similar bans in 2006 and 2005, respectively.

In addition to legislative attacks, anti-choice groups are pushing proposed ballot measures in a number of states – including Colorado, Missouri, and Montana – which could lead to bans on abortion. The proposed measures in Colorado and Montana would extend constitutional protection to embryos at the moment of conception, which could not only outlaw abortion but also ban birth control, stem-cell research, and assisted reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization.

It’s clear that when it comes to protecting Roe, elections matter. NARAL Pro-Choice America will lead the way in reaching an audience of voters and mobilizing them to support pro-choice leaders who will stand up for the values Roe represents.

The best way to protect a woman’s right to choose for future generations is to support pro-choice leaders who share those values and our vision – a vision of a country where all women have the necessary resources to make private, personal medical decisions without interference from the government or politicians.

Nancy Keenan is the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. The Who Decides? report and additional up-to-the minute information can be found at http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/whodecides.

* NARAL Pro-Choice America and its affiliates launched the Prevention First initiative in 2005. It includes commonsense pro-choice proposals like: increasing women’s access to birth control, including emergency contraception; ensuring teens receive accurate, age-appropriate sex education; and improving women’s access to family-planning services. For more information, please visite: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/preventionfirst/