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Finding common ground on abortion no easy task

Robert Anderson

Abortion continues to divide America, even in our local community, people of faith and within families. The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision failed to end the controversy; and 47 years later public opinion remains divided.

According to Gallup, 18% of Americans believe that abortion should be criminally banned after conception and, at the other extreme, 28% favor an unlimited right to abortion. Both extremes, representing a minority view, dominate public debate, refuse to compromise, and thereby prevent common ground and a lasting national legislative compromise.

The remaining majority of 64% do not see the issue as black and white, rather they favor abortion in the early stage of a pregnancy but also favor reasonable restrictions later in a pregnancy.

Locally, the issue of abortion is not contentious. Both clinics in Marquette which help women facing unplanned pregnancies are next door to each other on North Third Street. The faith-based Care Clinic and Planned Parenthood both provide information on the three options of going to full term as parents, going to full term with adoption and abortion. The Care Clinic does not provide abortion services, whereas Planned Parenthood does offer limited abortion services.

The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has brought the issue of abortion into national focus. Will the new justice nominated by President Trump and approved by the Senate sway the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and bring about the end of abortion? History tells us that Supreme Court panels with majority conservative justices will not overturn Roe, and even if Roe were overturned, abortion would not end.

The Roe decision relied on the firmly-enshrined right to privacy under the due process clause and extended its reach to include a woman’s right to have an abortion. Keep in mind that the Roe decision was not close.

It was decided by a substantial majority of 7 justices in favor to 2 justices against, and 5 of the 7 in favor of abortion were nominated by Republican presidents and only 2 were nominated by Democratic presidents. Keep in mind also that since 1973 the Supreme Court has been controlled by mostly justices appointed by Republican presidents and these conservative Courts for the past 47 years have upheld Roe. This shows how well-settled this precedent is and why it is unlikely that even a 6-3 conservative Court today will reverse precedent settled by previous conservative Courts.

Even if, in the highly unlikely situation, that Roe were overturned, the abortion issue would be sent back to each state to decide its own law, inflaming abortions wars in each state, eventually resulting in a patchwork of 50 differing abortion laws, many permitting it and others banning it, in varying degrees.

Abortion would not end, rather, as we know from history before 1973, abortion would move underground in unsafe ways and across state lines; and now today’s the abortion pill would be available via the mail for women in the banned states.

There is a better way to save the unborn. Since 2010, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion for prenatal care and baby delivery has substantially reduced the rate of abortion by empowering low-income women to go to full term with their pregnancies.

One of the most encouraging social facts of today is that today’s abortion rate is significantly lower than it was when Roe was decided. Other birth-friendly economic incentives, common in European countries, like paid-family leave, affordable pre-K child care, a livable minimum wage, expanded adoption services, and work-place protections for pregnant women are more effective ways to save babies than negative criminal abortion bans.

We need national legislation embodying majoritarian common ground. Most Americans seek sensible common ground. The European model offers a sensible compromise by allowing abortion in the early stage, mostly with non-surgical prescription pills and banning abortion thereafter, with certain reasonable exceptions. All European countries, except Poland, have ended their abortion war by adopting lasting national consensus. America should do the same.

A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy has a tremendous, far-reaching decision to make. She deserves access to a neighborhood clinic that provides information on all the options and she deserves government policies that give her financial supports if she decides to be a parent.

Editor’s Note: Robert Anderson is a Marquette attorney, has taught law at Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech University and is active in his Catholic Church.

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