I’m happy to see the massive turnout in Washington today for the abortion rights march. (I’m always happy to see people exercising their rights as citizens.)
One of the reasons I don’t get all that incensed about this particular issue is, I suspect making abortion illegal will be the single quickest way to a definitive, permanent victory for the abortion rights position. If the courts ever dictate that abortion is murder, I predict some very interesting results.
Politicians don’t want this settled - not really. It’s much more useful to the right wing the way things are. The whole “evil vs. good” thing works for them.
The past attempts by states to outlaw abortion have carefully avoided the third rail of the legal responsibility of the woman, shifting it instead onto the doctors who perform the procedure. Why? For one thing, no politician in his or her right mind wants to see people’s mothers, wives, sisters and girlfriends tried for murder, because some of the stories will be quite harrowing and evoke widespread sympathy.
But unless someone figures out a way to create a special exception to the “murder by hire” laws, it just won’t work. What other options do they have? Will they argue that pregnant women “aren’t quite right” or temporarily insane? That women aren’t real grownups?
They can’t legally justify it. And my guess is, the first time a public figure’s daughter is arrested, it’ll all be over.
