At 06:44 PM 5/17/2005 -0500, Gary Denton wrote: >> > > The point is, most Americans believe that abortions should be >> > > illegal >> > > some of the time. Most Democrats support the legality of all >> > > abortions, even for development beyond viability. > >I have never heard that position offered**. Roe v. Wade doesn't >support that position. Democratic platforms which I have read don't >support that position.
That position was established through Doe vs. Bolton, which was decided at the same time as Roe vs. Wide, and reinforced in Casey vs. PA and Stenberg v. Carhart. In particular, these cases specify that any restriction on abortion must contain a broad-based exception for the health of the mother. Since this health exception includes mental health, it means that any woman desiring an abortion is able to claim the health exception. I checked the Democratic Platforms from 1992 through 2004. Most of them included language to the effect that abortions should not be made more difficult to get. No platform included language saying that certain types or kinds of abortions should be restricted or regulated, let alone prohibited. This seems consistent with the proposition that "Democrats support the legality of all abortions." This is especially true given that no restriction on abortion has ever garnered the support of a majority of Democrats in either house of Congress. JDG _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l