Ballot issues, Palin fuel current abortion debate

NEW YORK — The abortion debate is gaining a higher campaign profile this year than in other recent general elections, partly because of divisive ballot measures and partly because of Sarah Palin.

Veteran leaders in the anti-abortion camp say they have never before seen the degree of enthusiasm that greeted Palin's selection as John McCain's Republican running mate. She opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest, and lived out her convictions by bearing an infant son she knew had Down syndrome.

"We're thrilled," said Karen Cross, political director of the National Right to Life Committee, after Palin was chosen. At the same time, the NRLC denounced Democrat Barack Obama as "the most pro-abortion candidate ever nominated by a major political party."

Abortion-rights groups, meanwhile, are hailing Obama and running mate Joe Biden as staunch allies and denouncing the GOP ticket. NARAL Pro-Choice America reports a surge of donations and volunteers since Palin's nomination and depicts the GOP platform as "the most anti-choice ever put forward."

The battle lines extend to South Dakota, Colorado and California, where voters on Nov. 4 will decide the fate of abortion-related ballot measures. Colorado is also shaping up as a swing state in the presidential race.

The California measure, similar to proposals defeated twice before, would require a 48-hour waiting period and parental notification before minors could obtain abortions.

The other measures are far more sweeping. South Dakota's would outlaw abortions except in cases of rape, incest or a serious threat to the mother's health; Colorado's would define human life as beginning with "the moment of fertilization" — a clear challenge to abortion rights.

Leslie Durgin of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said abortion-rights groups believe they can defeat the Colorado measure if they can explain its ramifications to voters.

The anti-abortion movement itself is divided over the amendment, with the National Right to Life Committee and Colorado's Roman Catholic bishops declining for strategic reasons to endorse it.

In South Dakota, the vote on the abortion ban is expected to be close.

In 2006, voters there defeated a more-sweeping ban — with no exceptions for rape or incest — 56 percent to 44 percent, and anti-abortion activists say they believe the new version will prevail.

Their long-term goal is to trigger a legal challenge of the ban that would reach the U.S. Supreme Court and give it a chance to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing a right to abortion.

Another opponent of abortion, Connie Mackey of the Family Research Council, said Palin offered a potentially invigorating contrast to politicians who lent only rhetorical support to the anti-abortion cause.

"The pro-abortion contingent didn't think there would be anyone this high-profile who'd not only talk the talk but walk the walk," Mackey said.

However, abortion-rights activists say Palin may fail to draw independent, undecided female voters to the GOP ticket if they believe that the Alaska governor favors stripping women of their right to decide for themselves on abortion.

"Palin is a problem for McCain," said NARAL's president, Nancy Keenan. "She is not talking about women's freedom of choice and right to privacy. Neither she nor McCain are raising it because they know America finds their position to be extreme."

Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said Palin's nomination will energize religious conservatives and raise abortion's profile in the campaign. But she, like Keenan, said the issue could be more troublesome for the Republicans than for the Democrats.

"If you look at the swing vote, it's not a very socially conservative vote," Greenberg said. "For college-educated suburban independents, Sarah Palin embodies something they're not comfortable with."

Thus far in the campaign, abortion-rights supporters are pleased by Obama's approach. He has defended Roe v. Wade and recently aired radio ads criticizing McCain's opposition to abortion.