By John Hanna
Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. — Abortion opponents marked the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision Tuesday with workshops, prayers and calls for more limits on the rights established by the Supreme Court in the landmark ruling that still defines one of the nation’s most intractable debates.
Many in the anti-abortion movement looked to Kansas, where Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a series of tough anti-abortion measures during his first two years in office.
Other states with GOP governors and Republican-controlled legislatures have taken similar steps.
“There’s joy in what you’re doing and keep it up,” Brownback urged hundreds of fellow abortion opponents at a rally outside the Kansas Statehouse.
Abortion-rights groups observed a quieter anniversary — a possible reflection of the reality that it’s far rarer for lawmakers to expand access to abortion. The National Organization for Women planned a candlelight vigil at the Supreme Court to commemorate the 1973 decision, which created a constitutional right to abortions in some circumstances and prevented states from banning the practice.
President Barack Obama issued a statement reaffirming the decision’s commitment to “reproductive freedom” and the principle that “government should not intrude on our most private family matters, and women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care.”
The ruling “should be honored,” said Rep. Emily Perry, a lawyer and Democrat from the Kansas City suburb of Mission who supports abortion rights.
In Topeka, at least 1,000 people rallied with Brownback and anti-abortion legislators. The Kansas governor has called on state lawmakers to create “a culture of life.” He is expected to support whatever further restrictions they approve.
Kansans for Life, the most influential of the state’s anti-abortion groups, plans to ask lawmakers to enact legislation ensuring that the state doesn’t finance abortions even indirectly, such as through tax breaks or by allowing doctors-in-training at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., to perform them on the center’s time.
The group also wants to strengthen a state law dictating what information must be provided to abortion patients, banning abortions because of the fetus’ gender and allowing wrongful-death lawsuits when a fetus dies because of an accident.
