Posted on 06/16/2003 10:33:40 PM PDT by scripter
The woman known as "Roe" in the historic Supreme Court case that legalized abortion is filing a motion in federal court today to overturn the 1973 decision.
The Roe v. Wade ruling should be set aside because of changes in law and new research that make the prior decision "no longer just," argues Allan E. Parker, Jr., lead attorney for the San Antonio, Texas-based Justice Foundation.
Norma McCorvey |
Parker is representing the former "Jane Roe," Norma McCorvey, who has the right to petition for reopening the case because she was party to the original litigation.
McCorvey announced in 1995 she had become a Christian and now has a pro-life ministry called Roe No More.
"I long for the day that justice will be done and the burden from all of these deaths will be removed from my shoulders," McCorvey said in a statement. "I want to do everything in my power to help women and their children. The issue is justice for women, justice for the unborn, and justice for what is right."
McCorvey will ask for a reversal of the judgment today at the Dallas federal court.
In an interview with WorldNetDaily two years ago, McCorvey said she was "used" by pro-abortion attorneys in their quest to legalize the procedure.
Seeking an abortion at the age of 21, McCorvey made up a story that she had been raped. She was put in touch with two attorneys who aimed to challenge the Texas abortion statute.
"Plain and simple, I was used," she said. "I was a nobody to them. They only needed a pregnant woman to use for their case, and that is it. They cared, not about me, but only about legalizing abortion. Even after the case, I was never respected probably because I was not an Ivy League-educated, liberal feminist like they were."
New evidence
Parker notes the Supreme Court has overturned its own precedents, citing the 1997 Agostini v. Felton decision in which the high court used a post-judgment motion by a party to overturn two 12-year-old precedents.
The legal question in the case, he said, is, "Is it just to continue giving Roe v. Wade future application?"
He asserts three major arguments for reopening and overturning the case:
Parker will present affidavits from more than 1,000 women who testify having an abortion has had devastating emotional, physical and psychological effects. This is 1,000 times more evidence than presented in the original case, he says. Also, new scientific evidence indicates abortion is associated with more physical and psychological complications for women than were known about in 1973. In contrast, there have been no scientific studies measuring any significant benefits abortion has produced in women's lives.
"The result of granting the motion would be to set aside and annul Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, its companion case," Parker explained. "This would return the issue of protecting women and children to the people with Baby Moses laws serving as a safety net."
Parker and McCorvey will appear at a press conference in Dallas today along with women who will testify of abortion's harmful effects in their lives.
Ominous warning
Meanwhile, a leading abortion-rights group, NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, has launched a $3 million ad campaign to warn of a day when the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade.
The group says the campaign coincides with recent passage of the partial-birth abortion ban by Congress and potential retirements by Supreme Court justices.
"Together these spots serve as a stark reminder of what could happen if we don't stop this tidal wave of anti-choice activity that is emanating right out of our own White House," said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman in a statement.
NARAL television ad |
One 15-second television commercial opens with ominous music and a woman who looks in horror at a newspaper headline that reads: "Abortion outlawed, Court overturns right to choose."
The ads have begun airing on cable channels but will be shown on broadcast stations in three key states in two weeks. Iowa, Wisconsin and Oregon were chosen because they were narrowly decided in the 2000 presidential election.
During the 2000 presidential election campaign, then-President Bill Clinton said he expected Roe v. Wade to be overturned if George W. Bush won.
"If Gov. Bush gets elected, he'll appoint judges more like the ones appointed by the ... Reagan and Bush administrations," Clinton said in a National Public Radio interview. "And if they get two to four appointments on the Supreme Court, I think Roe v. Wade will be repealed."
Speculation has arisen in the last several years about departures by Rehnquist, 78, Sandra Day O'Connor, 73, and John Paul Stevens, 83.
Rehnquist has been the focus of most of the attention. But his recent decisions to hire staff for the court's next annual term, beginning in the fall, and to schedule an important hearing Sept. 8 suggest he will not be leaving soon.
Gee whiz, liberal lefty lawyers wouldn't support her committing purgery to argue for an abortion would they???? {sarcasm}
yeah, we ought to leave exceptions in when we get it overturned.....NOT!!!!!
Let your voice be heard!
Women who have had an abortion (post-abortive women) can help by speaking out against the harmful effects of abortion and saving lives by filling out an affidavit form.
Errm, that's the Face of NOW even today.
The faster Roe gets overturned, the better.
As far as litmus tests go, the dims are getting away with filibustering appointments for no reason at all right now. Sad that conservatives haven't fought hard enough for people like Estrada and Owens and the constitutional principles enabling their appointment by the President.
Yep. It demonstrates just how evil they really are. I mean actually evil, as one has to be truly evil to support infanticide, which is clearly what was prohibited by that law.
AbortionDebate.org is a website/forum that was created for fair & balanced debate on this topic. ALS and I are the founders. We'll be spending some time (the next few days)doing some maintenance on it. Due to time constraints on my part, I've let the board falter. Our intent is to provide an atmosphere that welcomes debate/resources from pro-lifers and pro-choicers, so that INFORMED decisions could be made. We sought pro-choice management to insure fairness. That quest proved to be fruitless. It seemed the very people who are so hellbent on "choice" were extremely intolerant of the LIFE choice.
It's my hope that we can jumpstart this project again, particularly with Norma's new court challenge in the headlines.
I humbly ask for your help/support....and ask that you please register/post/spread the link around. We will also be in need (once again) of pro-choicers on the management team so that they may list and post their opinions/resources un-biasedly. If you are a PCer or know someone who might be interested, please email Webmaster@abortiondebate.org or FReepmail me.
Please note that any broken links on the board are in the process of being repaired.
Thank you,
CBJ
Before Roe vs Wade, there were at least two states that allowed abortions-NY and TX. Women had to travel to these states for abortions. In addition, other states allowed abortions under stricter rules for physical health reasons or severe mental problems. So, before Roe vs. Wade legal abortions were occuring but they were up to the states to decide under what circumstances.
If Roe vs. Wade were overturned the states would still be able to make laws regarding abortion. The most dangerous thing about Roe V wade is that the SC created a concept (privacy) that did not exist in the orginal constitution in order to base its ruiling on. Besides the result being legal abortions, the creation of a new constitutional doctrine will have ramifications on future unrelated issues.
Never happen. Pro-choicers dont' want informed debate because they only have fallacies to support their view. At some point the pro-lifers will lose their tempers with the constant lies and fallacies the proc-choicers use and the debates will end in vicious name calling.
Laws are not made by the governor. Whatever laws the state has on the books at the time would be what controls. Assuming any laws restricting abortions have been deleted from the various statutes of each state then new laws would need to be passed before a state could ban them.
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