The Real Life Consequences of an Anti-Choice President
Posted on June 11th, 2008 by
TSweeney NIRHealth -
A poll of 1,200 women in March showed that about half of those who back Senator John McCain said they didn’t know enough about where he stands on abortion to determine whether he agrees with their own opinions on choice. That means they might not know that he wants to overturn Roe , that he opposes birth control, or that he has voted against women’s choice 123 out of 128 times in the Senate. If McCain is able to smuggle these anti-choice policies into the White House, consequences for women could include less control over their reproductive health, fewer choices in handling an unintended pregnancy, and even the criminalization
The new video just released by Brave New Films depicts a dystopian vision where clinics would deny women the full range of services and even information about unintended pregnancies. These videos may just be satire, good for mocking McCain and his anti-choice policies, but they eerily reflect the actual decisions that he and other pro-life policymakers have made about the fate of reproductive rights in America.
One of the scariest possible consequences of electing an anti-choice candidate is that overturning Roe would lead to the criminalization of abortion. That means that women would be forced to choose between seeking an illegal, dangerous abortion and carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term. Doctors would have to choose between providing safe, quality abortion care and risking criminal prosecution, or turning women away when they need their doctors most. We know the results of such policies all too well—we’ve been down that road before, and we can’t go back. The Winning Message Action Fund of the National Institute for Reproductive Health has established a website, HowMuchTime.org and produced a video ad dedicated to making sure that this critical question is part of the national dialogue.
And it’s not just John McCain that we have to fear. Many state legislatures are considering—or have already passed —laws that make abortion a crime. In 2007 alone, 14 states considered legislation that would make all abortions illegal, except in cases of rape, incest or where the mother’s life is at risk. For example, a key committee in the Colorado legislature came within one vote of passing legislation to make all abortions illegal. Three states—Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Dakota—have actually enacted complete bans on abortion that will likely take effect the day Roe is overturned by a conservative Supreme Court.
These nightmare scenarios are enough to urge anyone who cares about the fate of choice in America to do whatever possible to prevent the ascendancy of ill-advised and inhumane crusades against the right to choose.
