FROM THE PRESIDENT; PRO-LIFERS WON ROUND ONE, BUT...(Editorial)

Let's remember how things stood before the 2004 election. Activists on both sides of the abortion issue knew that the election would be pivotal to their cause.

If John Kerry won, his new appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court would solidify a pro-Roe v. Wade majority on the Court for decades to come, and any substantive pro-life legislation would continue to be in danger of being declared unconstitutional. With a pro-Roe Court continuing its role as the pro-abortionists' bastion of strength, they would be able to frustrate the efforts of pro-lifers even if they themselves lacked the legislative support for advancing their agenda beyond the current status.

In contrast, the reelection of President George Bush would offer the possibility of shifting the balance on the Court to the anti-Roe, pro-Constitution side. Of course, overturning Roe v. Wade would only be the first step, but an essential step. For pro-lifers this would be the beginning of the beginning. For pro-abortionists, it would be the beginning of the end.

If an anti-Roe, pro-Constitution Court would find that there is no constitutional basis for Roe v. Wade, then the regulation of abortion is up to the legislative branches of government.

The pro-abortionists had the easier task going into the election. All they had to do was help John Kerry win the presidency, and Roe v. Wade would be safe for another 30 years. They had every reason to believe that they would succeed: Their financial resources vastly exceeded those of the pro-life side. The news media, opinion makers, and prominent entertainment personalities were, for the most part, on their side. And "progressive" 527 groups and labor unions supporting the Kerry/Edwards campaign were running get-out-the-vote campaigns of unprecedented intensity. On top of that, the country was in a difficult war and still recovering from the economic downturn caused by the economic fallout from the 9/11 attack and the bursting of the Wall Street bubble that had developed under Clinton--a situation favoring the challenger.

In contrast, pro-lifers faced an uphill battle. They were outspent on a massive scale. Their message was ignored or actively suppressed by the media. And they were met with a well-organized opposition from "progressive" members of normally pro-life congregations. (My hometown newspaper had full-page advertisements from "People of Faith for Kerry" and "Pax Christi.") There was no end to phony "seamless garment" arguments.

It was tough. And on Election Day, when the early (fortunately erroneous) exit polls showed Kerry winning handily, it was also scary--very scary.