Fights brew on abortion rights

Legislation mirroring U.S. mood

By Judy Keen
USA TODAY 

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann has supported bills that restrict abortion for all of his 26 years in the Ohio General Assembly, but he has never seen anything like this.
"Clearly the atmosphere is different than I've ever seen it," he says. "We have a strong pro-life majority in both the House and the Senate and a strong pro-life governor" — Republican John Kasich, who was elected in 2010. "Certainly," he says, "the time is right now."
Wachtmann, a Republican, is the sponsor of a bill that would ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is audible. It passed in committee last month and is headed to the House floor.
New Hampshire Rep. Christopher Serlin is a newcomer to his state's Legislature, elected last November. He sees a new climate of acceptance for limits on abortion, too, but unlike Wachtmann, he's alarmed by it.
Some of his colleagues "are working as hard and as fast as they can to restrict women's access to reproductive health care in as many ways as they can," says Serlin, a Democrat. "If they could ban abortion outright, I'm sure they would do that."
The New Hampshire House voted last month to require minors to tell their parents or a judge before having an abortion.
Polls by Gallup and others show that the issue is a divisive one, and that split is reflected in state capitols.
Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Trujillo filed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. "My constituency feels strongly about this issue," he says. "In the last election, the people spoke loud and clear about their … values," he says.
Rep. Carl Wimmer, a Utah Republican and frequent sponsor of bills to restrict abortion, says states must act strategically by crafting legislation that "pushes around the edges of Roe v. Wade," the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide, and stands up in court.
An outright ban might not survive a court fight, which "would be disastrous," Wimmer says. "Let's make sure we do win."
Some foes of abortion limits share Serlin's distress.
Legislation introduced in Indiana would require that women seeking abortions be told that life begins at conception and that they face a greater risk of breast cancer and ban the procedure after 20 weeks unless the woman's life is in danger.
Indiana Rep. Terri Austin, a Democrat, is "very concerned" that the measures were rushed through committee without adequate debate or consideration for "women who are trying to wrestle with the most important decision" of their lives.
She says she's "more determined" than ever to make sure people get accurate information about the bills' effects.
Rep. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, opposes a bill passed by the Texas House that would require women to have ultrasounds and listen to the fetus' heartbeat before they can have abortions. During the debate, she held up a probe used for early-pregnancy sonograms and called it a "very intrusive process."
"If this is really about saving lives and reducing the number of abortions, why not fully fund family planning services?" Alvarado asks.
Serlin calls the current legislative environment on abortion "very dangerous" and predicts that some legislators who vote for restrictions on abortion "are going to suffer for it in 2012" when they face re-election.
Wachtmann says he and his peers who support such legislation are doing what their constituents want. He expects his fetal heartbeat bill to pass and be challenged in court. If it is struck down, he will try again. The bill, he says, "is a first effort probably of many that we will have."