Three pro-choice advocates voiced their opposition to the Unborn Victims of Violence Act at a reproductive rights discussion held by the Women's Council last night to mark the first 100 days of President George W. Bush's term in office.
The bill was recently passed by the House of Representatives 252 to 172 and Bush has promised to sign it into law should it reach the Oval Office.
If passed, the bill would make the killing of the unborn without the consent of the mother a federal offense.
Many abortion rights activists, including panelist Amy Landers, the community organizer for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, argue that passage of the bill would elevate the status of the unborn to that of humanity.
"The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is dangerous because it elevates the status of the fetus to personhood," Landers said.
Such law weakens the constitutional legitimacy of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, Landers said.
"If you give the fetus legal rights of personhood, then abortions cannot continue."
According to Landers, people should not be prosecuted for the act of intentionally killing unborn children without the consent of the mother.
Before the discussion, a small group of 10 students gathered outside of the Rockefeller Center to hand out stickers and literature in support of the pro-life movement. Approximately 30 students, mostly women, attended the discussion.
Although discussion grew heated at times, the overall atmosphere was one of civility.
At one point, panelist Sandra Ackerman, the director of Abortion Services at the Feminist Health Center of Portsmouth and president of the New Hampshire Fund for Choice, conceded that the division over the issue of abortion remains acute.
"I understand the anti-choice movement's thinking. Abortion isn't for everybody," she said.
Overall, student attendees reacted positively to the discussion, which was moderated by Kathryn Burton, a Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences student and a member of the Women's Council.
Grace Leslie '02, co-chair of the Women's Council said that she found the discussion educational.
"I thought it was very good and informative. I don't think most people know what the Bush administration means to reproductive rights and a woman's right to choose," Leslie said.
"I'm glad that the Women's Council started the dialogue," Christine Percheski '01. "As a member of the Coalition for Life on campus, I would like to say that abortion is wrong for women, but we support the ongoing dialogue."
