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WICHITA, Kan. - The Roe v. Wade decision voided all state laws banning abortion, but with the addition of two conservatives to the U.S. Supreme Court - John Roberts recently began serving as chief justice and Samuel Alito's confirmation is expected this week - speculation has grown that the decision, which was rendered 33 years ago Monday, could soon be overturned.
"It would focus attention back to legislatures in a way it hasn't been in awhile," said Richard Levy, who teaches and writes about constitutional law at the University of Kansas.
"I think the stakes would become significantly higher and, if possible, the politics would become even nastier."
In Roe, the court ruled that laws against abortion violate the constitutional right to privacy. None of the justices who served on the court at the time remain.
Groups that support abortion rights think Alito's confirmation will provide a fourth vote against Roe among the nine justices.
That would put the ruling at risk of being overturned if an opponent replaces one of the five justices who have supported Roe.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has a mixed record on abortion-related cases that have come before the court, is considered the swing vote on Roe, Levy said.
Overturning Roe wouldn't require states to make abortion illegal.
"It would mean states are free to regulate abortions however they might choose," Levy said.
Conservative lawmakers in some states, including Indiana and Ohio, are introducing bills to ban abortion, hoping to force legal challenges that would lead the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe.
Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said overturning Roe could spark a backlash against groups opposed to abortion that could change the political dynamics at the state level.
"There are a lot of people that take for granted they have some basic rights to privacy for some personal decisions, and the furor that would occur should Roe be overturned would certainly shake that attitude," Brownlie said.
Most people, he said, fall somewhere between extremists on both sides - those who oppose abortion at any cost, and those who think abortion should be available without restriction.
"When people pursue an extreme political agenda and overreach, that's often when the pendulum swings back," Brownlie said, "and I think the overturning of Roe could signal the overreaching of the minority imposing their particular political agenda on the majority."
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(c) 2006, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.). Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
