I thought Leslie Byrne's comments yesterday about the Supreme Court and womens' rights were very interesting. With the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, and possibly one or two other Justices in coming months, a number of important issues, which most of us thought had basically been decided in this country, could be opened up again. In fact, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that rights we have all taken for granted our whole lives could even be thrown into jeopardy. As Byrne pointed out at the Summer Kickoff Celebration in McLean yesterday, this could mean that each state will be increasingly likely to decide such things as the right of women to choose and other important issues. And that, my friends, makes the elections in Virginia this year even more critical than they already were.
As the Washington Post points out today, in an article entitled "O'Connor's Exit Energizes Va. Abortion Debate:"
Virginia's candidates for governor are bracing for abortion to emerge as a volatile and perhaps decisive issue as the final months of the 2005 campaign coincide with a national debate over President Bush's choice to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.Senior advisers for the Virginia candidates, along with the state's leading abortion rights activists and abortion opponents, say interest in whether a newly constituted court might overturn the 32-year-old decision legalizing abortion will energize a debate that has faded from prominence in Virginia elections.
And then there are people like Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), who insist they "will not let up" in their efforts at restricting and ultimately even outlawing abortion completely. Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in this country, has now been the law of the land for 32 years. That may be about to change; we simply can NOT take it for granted anymore.
All this is why a great deal more than we had thought could be at stake in Virginia this year, depending upon the makeup of the Supreme Court in 6 months or a year from now. It's also why people like Leslie Byrne and Jim Moran are starting to talk about this issue, and urging Virginians to vote for Tim "Safe, Legal and Rare" Kaine over Jerry "Ban Abortion Except for Rape and Incest" Kilgore. As on so many other issues, on abortion it's the Warner/Kaine/Byrne/Deeds approach that's mainstream, while the Kilgore/Bolling/McDonnell approach is the one that's extreme. If that's not clear now, it certainly will be by November.