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Seven anti-abortion laws, including one requiring notification of parents of minors seeking abortions, were passed during the Legislature's 1999 session. That statistic led abortion rights advocates to declare Texas the nation's leader in what they consider the assault on reproductive freedom -- a status that pleases abortion foes such as keynote speaker Cheree Bartlett of the Los Angeles-based Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. "Give yourselves a big round of applause for the notification law," she said. "Because of people like you, having children and instilling in them the value of life, you've accomplished a great deal. We have a lot to be hopeful for."
The 27th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade finds the landmark ruling under its greatest pressure ever. Texas and other states have passed more laws to restrict abortions, with the number of anti-abortion measures across the country rising from 14 in 1996 to 62 in 1998 to 70 last year, said Kae McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.
"We have gone backwards," she said in a telephone interview. "The political climate now is very anti-choice. The only thing holding the line has been a pro-choice president." President Clinton acknowledged the challenge Saturday during a speech to Democratic Party donors when he said the future of legalized abortion depends on the outcome of the 2000 presidential race. The next president will probably name more than two justices to the Supreme Court, which Clinton said could tip the balance in favor of overturning the 1973 decision.
Both Democratic candidates support abortion rights and favor retaining the decision, but all six GOP candidates are anti-abortion. At the Austin rally, supporters of Republican candidate Alan Keyes passed out bumper stickers as others distributed anti-abortion literature and circulated anti-Planned Parenthood petitions. The rally and march, which has been sponsored for the past 10 years by the Greater Austin Right to Life Committee, drew 1,500 participants, the Texas Department of Public Safety estimated.
It's a must-do for many, including Austinite Diane Evans, who said she can't recall missing a year at the rally. "We're are Bible-believing Christians and definitely, without a doubt, know abortion is murdering babies, and we're taking a stand for them because they can't do it themselves," said Evans, who marched from Republic Square at Fourth and Guadalupe streets to the state Capitol. Susan Fernandez and her 10-year-old daughter, Sarah, carried signs that said "Celebrate Victory for Life." "We're Catholic, and we believe that abortion is wrong," Fernandez said. With the abortion restrictions approved last session, Joe Pojman, executive director of the Austin anti-abortion group, said efforts will shift in 2001 to passage of a woman's right-to-know bill to make sure women receive information about the medical and psychological risks of abortion, development of the unborn child and alternatives to abortion.
Based on information from other states that have passed laws requiring doctors to tell parents before performing abortions on minors, Pojman said anti-abortion supporters believe the notification law will eliminate the need for a parental consent law. "We've got to see that it works -- make sure that it's constitutional," he said. "It hasn't been challenged yet, but we're waiting for something." Pojman said abortions and pregnancies of minors have dropped 20 percent to 25 percent in states with notification laws. Because of that, Pojman said he doubts there will be another move to pass a parental consent measure next session.
According to the anti-abortion group, the notification law alone is expected to reduce abortions for minors by more than 1,000 a year in Texas and reduce the number of pregnancies for minors by more than 6,000. Abortion rights advocates will gather Monday on the West Mall of the University of Texas campus for a rally of their own. Sponsored by UT Voices for Choice, the speakers include Sarah Weddington, the attorney who argued and won the case before the U.S. Supreme Court; McLaughlin; and Samantha Smoot of the Texas Freedom Network.
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