As the 25th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade draws near, abortion-rights
activists are counting their political and public-opinion setbacks in the war
over abortion.
In a state with relatively few abortion providers, Ohio abortion rights
supporters see medical advances - the use of pills and injections - as a way
to make abortion a more private matter.
But neither side expects the new techniques will end the conflict.
Last week, the Ohio Senate passed two bills that restrict access to
abortion, and a New York Times/ CBS News poll found eroding public support
for abortion at any time, for any reason.
To Peggy Lehner, executive director of Dayton Right to Life, this signals a
significant shift.
"The nation is growing weary of totally unrestricted abortion," Lehner
said. "It's bothering the conscience of the country."
Abortion rights activists point out that the public still supports
legalized abortion and they see no immediate threat to the landmark 1973
Supreme Court decision that will be recognized Thursday.
However, supporters admit, Roe vs. Wade has limited impact in states like
Ohio where only eight of its 88 counties have abortion providers.
"Having a right doesn't matter if you don't have access," said Noreen
Willhelm, director of external relations for Planned Parenthood of the Greater
Miami Valley.
She conceded abortion opponents have won key battles by shifting public
attention toward late-term abortions.
"There's no question that the strategy of picking a particular procedure
and focusing attention on details of it has been effective," Willhelm said.
Despite these setbacks, she says, "we've come a long way because abortion
is legal; it's safe."
Now pro-choice supporters are retrenching, pinning their hopes in part on
prevention and on the increased use of medical abortions to end pregnancy in
its early stages.
"In the next 25 years, we want to focus on decreasing the need for
abortion," said Aly Terrell, state organizer for NARAL (National Abortion and
Reproductive Rights Action League) Ohio.
While that strategy sounds as though NARAL plans to borrow a page from the
anti-abortion hymnal, Terrell says preventing unwanted pregnancies has always
been a focus of the group.
"We don't want abortion to go away because women don't have access or
because it's illegal," Terrell said. "We want it to go away because of
decreased need."
Medical changes may alter battle strategies.
Recently, researchers discovered the anti-cancer drug methotrexate, used
for 40 years in the United States, can be administered in combination with
another drug for an early end to pregnancy. Scientists are studying its
safety.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that mifepristone,
known in Europe as RU-486, is safe and effective for medical abortions, but
the agency has not issued final approval for its use.
"The medical procedures will not eliminate surgical procedures," cautioned
Planned Parenthood's Willhelm. "Women, especially young women, will put off
making decisions about pregnancy until the last minute."
Lehner, of Dayton Right to Life, agreed, predicting that medical abortions
will prove unsafe for women.
Even if this way of terminating a pregnancy becomes more common, it won't
put an end to abortion clinic protests that have become the frontlines of the
struggle.
"Maybe more doctors will be willing to slip pills to women in their
offices," Lehner said. "And that will become well enough known."