We are nearing Roe v. Wade's 30th birthday, but because of the recent potentially dire election results, Roe v. Wade may not live to see her 32nd birthday.
The elections of Nov. 5, 2002 could be severely detrimental to our reproductive freedom. The four-seat gain by the Republicans in the Senate gave the Republicans the majority. For the first time in nearly 50 years the Republicans control both the House and the Senate.
Abortion rights may be in immediate danger. Bush wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and now may have the power to do so with a Congress dominated by Republicans. Abortion rights are barely hanging on to a 5-4 margin in the U.S. Supreme Court. Two or even three of the Supreme Court justices may retire while Bush is in office, creating vacancies for the Bush Administration to fill. We hold a false sense of security in our notion that abortion rights are here to stay; in less than two years abortion may be moved from clinic tables to kitchen tables.
Today the House and the Senate are both dominated by Republicans. This means Bush may have the opportunity to name multiple justices to our Supreme Court, and the Republican Senate will most likely approve his nominees. New Supreme Court justices are terrifying, because one swing vote in the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade. Equally terrifying, the Senate may now seriously consider anti-choice legislation. This means the new Republican Senate could decrease funding for family planning and contraception programs. We may be nearing an accidental second baby boom.
The majority of Americans are pro-choice and the majority of Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. A 2001 poll by CNN stated that just 39 percent of Americans consider themselves to be pro-life, and a 2002 poll by Fox News revealed that just 26 percent of Americans want to overturn Roe v. Wade. The question that lies in the minds of Americans refers to the level of restriction we want on abortion, not if abortion should be completely eliminated from a woman's options. We have found ourselves on the brink of becoming an anti-choice nation, when the majority of us are pro-choice.
Bush is an anti-choice Republican, but not all Republicans are anti-choice. By our society associating pro-choice with the Democrats and pro-life with the Republicans, we are limiting the voice of the American people. Abortion is not an issue that coincides with taxes or welfare reform; abortion needs its own category.
Today, we are a scared nation. More people may be voting Republican due to homeland security concerns, not due to abortion concerns. Our views are not being represented in Congress; anti-choice representatives are at a higher percentage in our Congress than in our nation.
If the Supreme Court denies us one part of reproductive freedom, be prepared for our government to deny us another; contraception may also be in danger. A bill currently in legislation would allow pharmacists to deny distribution of birth control. Also be prepared for legislation to attack our family planning. Somehow, in a nation where 50 percent of births are unintended, our president wants to decrease sex education, contraceptive usage, family planning and abortion. Bush needs to step down from his moral high ground and try to understand the people who constitute the country he attempts to run.
The increase of Americans voting Republican should not be attributed to an increase in Americans wanting women denied abortion and contraception rights. Our system is flawed to believe in a time of such political turmoil that voting Republican means voting anti-choice. We must make sure our voices are accurately heard in our government. If we are not a nation of anti-choice citizens, then we cannot let our government pretend we are.
