He’s Still Going to Repeal the Global Gag Rule, Right?
The thirty-sixth anniversary of Roe came and went with no
word from the White House repealing the global gag rule, frustrating
the hopes of many women’s health advocates.  Does this mean President
Obama won’t take swift action on the gag rule?  He will do so “soon,” reports Laura Meckler in the Wall Street Journal.  But not, as tradition dictates, on the Roe
anniversary.  According to Meckler, Obama is pursuing a strategy of
“defusing emotional political debates: “President Obama was breaking
with the tradition set by his recent
predecessors to make an abortion-related order on the anniversary of
the Supreme Court ruling, another example of his attempt to support
liberal policies he believes in while trying to defuse emotional
political debates.”  Obama’s statement in honor of the Roe
anniversary acknowledged the importance of the decision while staking
out a common ground:

“While this is a sensitive and often divisive
issue, no matter what our
views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended
pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and
families in the choices they make,” the president said in a statement.
“To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to
expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information,
and preventative services,” he said.

More on Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Record

Reports suggest Gov. David Paterson will announce Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as replacement for Sen. Hillary Clinton at noon today. On TAPPED, Dana Goldstein has more on Rep. Gillibrand’s record, raising some red flags on her position on civil rights issues, particularly LGBT rights.

Anti-Choice Members of Congress Speak On Roe Anniversary
Decrying the Freedom of Choice
Act and the work of Planned Parenthood and , anti-choice members of Congress took the floor yesterday to voice
opposition to legal abortion, reports LifeSiteNews.com:

A series of speeches in the US Congress marked the legalisation of
abortion in the US by the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973. A
group of pro-life representatives urged President Obama to pursue
pro-life policies, such as retaining the Mexico City Policy that
restricts funding for international organisations that promote abortion
overseas. They also denounced the new president’s stated intention to
sign the Freedom of Choice Act that would lift all state restrictions
on abortion in the country.

“Thousands” Gather at the March for Life
Commemorating the Roe anniversary, thousands of anti-choicers marched in DC against abortion rights, reports the Los Angeles Times.  The LA Times writes that youth made up a significant percentage of the crowd, and President Obama, who was invited to speak, instead issued a statement supporting women’s right to legal abortion.

Abortion Can Be A Moral Choice

Rev. Elizabeth Dilley writes thoughtfully in the Des Moines Register:

Women do not have abortions without careful deliberation with their
hearts, heads and souls. Long before a woman makes an appointment at a
clinic, she has weighed the costs of pregnancy – to her body, spirit,
and livelihood – against the benefits of parenting. She has taken into
account the attitudes of her partner, family and community. She has
discerned what her faith says (if she is part of a religious community)
about abortion, adoption and parenthood.Still, our culture
continues to deny these realities. Politicians allege that women choose
abortion casually or as a “birth-control method.” Society believes it
must protect women against any possible future regrets. Few public
religious leaders argue that women are competent, thoughtful and
capable moral agents, fit to make this decision without governmental
interference.

 

Anti-Choice Movement Down But Not Out

 

The anti-choice movement is down but not out, says Michael J. New on the National Review Online,
and he counts the ways that, despite electoral setbacks, the
anti-choice movement has successfully pushed its agenda over the past
decade.  The Democrats are defensive and/or distancing themselves from
abortion; the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Ban shifted public
opinion; Planned Parenthood “faces more scrutiny,” ultrasound
technology dissuades women from terminating unintended pregnancies.