Blogs Comment On Republican Platform; Sen. Casey At Democratic Convention; Mexico City's Abortion Law

Main Category: Abortion
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Article Date: 01 Sep 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The following is a summary of selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "GOP Platform 'Strongest Ever,'" ProLifeBlogs: By asserting the Republican Party's opposition to abortion rights in its platform, the Republican Party Platform Committee "adopted the strongest and most explicit support of life ever expressed by a major political party," according to the blog entry. The entry says that the "Republican Party platform stands in sharp contrast to the platform approved this week by delegates at the Democratic Convention, which stated, in part, that the Democratic Party 'strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine this right'" (ProLifeBlogs, 8/27).

~ "Minutes After Begala Debunked the Falsehood, CNN Caption Claimed Casey 'Was Denied a Speaking Role ... Because He Opposed Abortion Rights," Media Matters for America: The blog entry reports that less than 15 minutes after CNN political analyst Paul Begala "debunked the claim" that former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey (D) was not allowed to speak at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because he opposed abortion rights, CNN displayed on-screen text that Casey -- whose son, Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), spoke at the Democratic convention in Denver on Tuesday -- was denied a speaking role at the 1992 convention because of his antiabortion position. According to the blog, Media Matters for America repeatedly has documented that other Democrats who opposed abortion rights spoke at the 1992 convention and at every convention since, "so Casey's opposition to abortion rights could not have been the sole reason he was not given a speaking role." The entry includes the transcript of CNN's coverage (Media Matters for America, 8/27).

~ "Mexico Supreme Court Upholds Legalized Abortion," Vicki Saporta, National Abortion Federation Blog-Saporta Reporter: Vicki Saporta, CEO of NAF, posted her statement on the Mexican Supreme Court decision in a blog entry. According to the statement, "Illegal abortion is a serious public health issue in Mexico, as it results in the injury or death of thousands of Mexican women each year. Today's ruling is a positive step toward addressing this public health crisis, and it is a great victory for the women of Mexico City." Saporta adds, "Outlawing abortion does not eliminate abortions: it just forces women to jeopardize their health and even their lives in order to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. As the experience in many other countries has shown, decriminalization of abortion reduces mortality and morbidity among women seeking abortions and thereby improves public health" (Saporta, "National Abortion Federation Blog-Saporta Reporter," 8/28).

~ "Supreme Court of Mexico Expected To Rule Today on New Abortion Law," Nan Hunter, Feminist Law Professors: Mexico City's law on unrestricted abortions in the first trimester is "one of the most progressive in Latin America," Hunter writes in a blog entry. The law also sets a "precedent" that would "open up the possibility of other state-level governments in Mexico adopting similar laws," Hunter adds. However, Hunter writes that there is "quite an irony in the backdrop for this story out of Mexico, since professional, well-run and illegal abortion clinics have operated there for decades. Before Roe v. Wade, thousands of American women who could not obtain abortion in the U.S. went to Mexico." Hunter concludes that for "better or worse, it appears that abortion has become part of the discourse of constitutional law and entered the realm of the judiciary in our neighbor to the south. Let's hope their legal culture does a better job of handling it than ours has" (Hunter, Feminist Law Professors, 8/28).

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