Issue heats up campaign

Almost 30 years ago, a pregnant woman started a battle against the state of Texas that changed national policy. \nToday, Roe v. Wade is still cause for political unrest. The next president might have the power to appoint three to four Supreme Court justices, who in turn will have the power to overturn the decision. Traditionally, the Democratic Party takes the abortion rights stance, and the Republican party votes anti-abortion.\n"We have very diametrically opposed viewpoints," said visiting lecturer Julie Thomas. Republican candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush opposes most abortions, and Democratic candidate Vice President Al Gore supports abortion rights, Thomas said.\nAccording to his campaign Web site, Bush only supports abortion in cases of rape, incest or if the baby is a threat to the mother's life. Bush does not advocate the use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize any type of abortion.\nDuring Gore's time as a vice president, he has done much to promote abortion rights legislation. He voted against the "gag rule" which would have prevented doctors from informing their pregnant patients of abortion options, and recently helped legalize RU-486, a pill that terminates pregnancy.\nCampus for Choice member Laura Kruse, a junior, said she thinks Green Party candidate Ralph Nader most represents her views on the issue. Kruse said she believes Bush and Gore's actual feelings about abortion are similar.\nAccording to issues2000.org, Nader's positions are similar to Gore's but promote less government involvement in the decision. Nader also supports Roe v. Wade and says the threat of the next president overturning this decision is merely a "scare tactic."\nKruse said the government has been limiting the decision of Roe v. Wade for many years. Kruse said Congress has been trying to pass legislation requiring parental consent and family planning clinics. \n"They don't make a big deal of it," Kruse said. "We need to be aware of what is happening."\nThe amount of government control over abortions has also become a part of the issue.\n"I don't think any of those men have a right to say what a woman can do with her body," Kruse said.\nIU Students for Life Vice President Sarah McHone said she thinks the government was too hasty in approving RU-486.\n"I think this is an issue that is going to have to be looked at," McHone said." I don't think they have done a good enough job proving it is safe."\nThomas said she thinks decisions about abortions should be private decision between a woman and her doctor. Privacy is one of the reasons Roe v. Wade came out like it did, she said.\nBut the most apparent threat to women's rights is the potential appointment of conservative judges that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Thomas said.\n"It would set women back 30 years," she said. "(Overturning Roe v. Wade) would lead to the proliferation of underground abortions."\nAlthough presidents can appoint justices to the Supreme Court, nominees still must be approved by the Senate. \n"That's why (Senate) elections are so important," Thomas said, "this is (about) more than just abortion, this is about reproductive rights"