Fretting over Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood takes offensive

MONTPELIER, Vt. --Gearing up for a state-level fight over abortion, Planned Parenthood staged a pledge-signing ceremony Thursday to rally its legislative supporters and take aim at pro-life Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

The Vermont Right-to-Life Committee denounced the event as a ploy.

"It's a desperate act on Planned Parenthood's behalf to protect their abortion business from attempts by legislators -- pro life and pro choice -- to pass legislation that would benefit young girls and women facing a crisis pregnancy," said Executive Director Mary Hahn Beerworth.

Three of the four major-party candidates for lieutenant governor signed the pledge, vowing to support a woman's right to choose and promising to back legislation guaranteeing it.

Democrats Matt Dunne and John Patrick Tracy and Progressive Party candidate Marvin Malek all signed the pledge and said they would support the Vermont Freedom of Choice Act, which is legislation that would provide statutory protection to reproductive rights.

"We have to make sure every one of our state officials knows that a woman's right to choose is about a woman's right to make her own health care decisions," said Dunne, a Democratic state senator from Hartland.

The event, held in the state Capitol, was part of a larger Planned Parenthood effort aimed at rallying support for abortion rights.

New appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, coupled with state-level initiatives banning or restricting access to abortion, have pro-choice advocates nervous.

Louisiana passed a bill banning abortion except to protect the health of the mother, but it would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

In South Dakota, residents will vote this fall on a bill that would ban nearly all abortions.

Jessica Oski, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Northern New England Action Fund, said Roe v. Wade could be reversed within two years and said Vermont needs a lieutenant governor who will oppose efforts to criminalize abortion.

She called Dubie "the most active anti-choice statewide elected official in recent history."

Asked for his reaction to that statement, Dubie declined comment through spokeswoman Martha Hanson.

"If the Bush administration has its way, the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose to have an abortion will no longer be protected by the U.S. Constitution," said Oski.

Not so, said Beerworth.

The U.S. Supreme Court doesn't have the votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, by Planned Parenthood's count, she said.

Vermonters want restrictions on abortion, she said.

She said only 11 percent of Vermonters support the existing abortion-on-demand system, and said over 80 percent favor legislation that would ensure women are informed of the risks and alternatives to abortion.

"It's a red herring to rally up their base and dance away from legislation that's really before the Vermont legislature, which is parental notification," said Beerworth.