BOB ABERNETHY: Now our Cover Story. January 22 is the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic and controversial decision legalizing abortion, ROE V. WADE. Advocates on both sides are holding press conferences and marches. There are prayer vigils and another congressional hearing. On our Perspectives roundtable, we assess the state and direction of the emotional battle. First, how attitudes and the law have changed. Twenty-five years ago the argument before the Supreme Court was clear and simple.SARAH WEDDINGTON (Attorney for Jane Roe): We are not here to advocate abortion. We do not ask this court to rule that abortion is good or desirable in any particular situation. We are here to advocate that the decision as to whether or not a particular woman will continue to carry or will terminate a pregnancy is a decision that should be made by that individual, that in fact, she has a constitutional right to make that decision for herself.
ABERNETHY: The court agreed 7-2. It said abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is a woman's right. But the court's decision triggered a generation of protest. The fetus, said abortion opponents, is a human life; therefore, to abort it is murder. Antiabortionists picketed abortion clinics, forcing women entering to have escorts to protect them, and there was violence. In the last 20 years, five murders, 38 bombings, and 148 cases of arson. The U.S. Catholic Bishops have long opposed abortion. Now the Supreme Court's decision drew into politics millions of conservative Protestants. The antiabortion Christian Coalition became the most powerful grassroots lobby in the Republican Party. Pro-choice advocates saw their ROE V. WADE victory threatened.
Unidentified Woman: I think what happened is that when the Supreme Court decision was won, we all went, "That's it, we won." And we relaxed, but at the same time, you had these groups that were organizing to repeal it, and what they did was chip away a little bit at a time over the years.ABERNETHY: In 1992, the Supreme Court again affirmed the right to abortion. But it also gave states more leeway to restrict it, and many have. Some saw that court decision as a compromise.
FRANCES KISSLING (Catholics for a Free Choice): Abortion is going to be legal. It is some kind of right. Perhaps not a fundamental right, but it is going to be regulated.
FREDRICA MATTHEWES-GREEN (Pro-Life Activist): I did not believe that it was really a human being, I thought it was just a glob of tissue. And what ultrasound did was make visible this new character in the drama, that suddenly had to be reckoned with, and made a very deep, visceral pull on our conscience.
Ms. KISSLING: I would say most people are pro-lifers for choice and are comfortable balancing these two realities: the reality of a woman and her life, and the reality of the fetus and its potential for life.
