Abortion: A Year Later

In Washington, B.C., 7,000 demonstrators marched around the Capitol demanding that abortion be outlawed. At the same time, pro-abortion forces held an interfaith service in a nearby Protestant church to reaffirm their support of women's right to end unwanted pregnancies. In downtown Houston, some 250 people, many of them wearing black armbands in memory of the aborted unborn, gathered to protest the legality of such operations. Outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, a crowd demonstrated against the Roman Catholic Church's position, which holds that abortion is a sin. In a display of bad taste that could only weaken their case, the demonstrators crowned a woman "Pope," who issued a mocking benediction to the crowd that had assembled.

The occasion for the rallies was the anniversary of last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down restrictive state anti-abortion laws. In theory, the court's stand gave women free access to abortions during the first three months of pregnancy. The ruling was regarded by many women's rights groups as the end of a battle against laws they considered discriminatory. But for anti-abortion forces, the decision marked the beginning of a new round of efforts to outlaw abortion.

Despite the landmark decision, there are many areas in the U.S. where it is still difficult to obtain an abortion. A number of states have rewritten their laws to comply with the requirements of the court. But a survey by TIME correspondents round the country reveals that many of the old obstacles to abortion remain. A region-by-region report:

THE NORTHEAST. Abortions may now be obtained throughout most of the region, although in some states the procedure is performed only in hospitals --generally non-Catholic ones. But New York State, which adopted a law allowing abortion virtually on demand back in 1970, is still the best place for a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy Specialized clinics, which have been operating in New York City since shortly after the new law took effect, are also doing abortions in several upstate communities. Between the clinics and public and other non-Catholic hospitals, a total of 598,283 abortions were performed in New York City during the first three years of its liberal law, more than half of them on women from out of state. As a result of the legalized abortions, maternal deaths (many of them occurring in unwanted pregnancies, which in turn lead to poor prenatal care) have dropped dramatically. The year before New York's liberal law was enacted, there were 5.3 maternal deaths for every 10,000 births in the city; by 1972 this figure had fallen to 2.6.

THE SOUTH. Although the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham performs 50 a week (and could do more), many Alabama women avoid what they consider a stigma by traveling to Georgia for a readily available legal operation or even by seeking clandestine abortions closer to home. In Louisiana, because of a legal quirk, only one doctor openly does abortions. But hospitals in both Florida and Texas, as well as a growing number of special clinics, offer abortion services.

THE MIDWEST. Women seeking abortions in the Midwest have the best opportunity in large cities. In Chicago some 30,000 abortions were performed in clinics and hospitals last year. Elsewhere in the region, obtaining an abortion is not as easy. Milwaukee and Minneapolis have just one clinic apiece, and at least one public hospital in Milwaukee took advantage of a new state law and refused to perform the operation. The University of Nebraska Hospital's Board of Regents has restricted the number of abortions that may be performed there and threatened to dismiss any full-time staff member who performs one outside the hospital. St. Louis Mayor John Poelker has forbidden city-operated hospitals to perform abortions.

THE WEST. In Utah, where many hospitals are affiliated with churches, it is difficult to get an abortion. Idaho women often prefer to fly to Seattle, where cheaper abortions are available at hospitals and clinics. Abortions are most easily obtainable in California, where inexpensive clinics have flourished since the state began liberalizing its law in 1970. The Pregnancy Conirol Center, a privately operated clinic in San Francisco, did 6,800 abortions last year.

Even this limited progress could be further slowed if antiabortionists succeed in their campaigns to overturn or evade the Supreme Court decision. Catholic-led "Right to Life" groups came within a hair of having New York's liberal law repealed two years ago; now they are intensifying their efforts to influence lawmakers against abortion. California's Pro-Life Council, which claims a membership of 15,000, has been pressuring state legislators to change the law there.

Most antiabortionists, however, are concentrating their efforts on Washington, D.C. New York's Terence Cardinal Cooke has launched a drive to amend the U.S. Constitution to outlaw abortion. Says he: "No person has the right to say that the innocent life of another human being may be taken at a particular point in time." Other abortion opponents are pushing constitutional amendments in Congress. A rider added to domestic health legislation that was enacted last year permits federally funded private hospitals to refuse to perform abortions.

Advocates of easier abortion admit that they have suffered some setbacks. "The nickel and diming by the opposition is now as serious a threat as the proposed constitutional amendments," says Lawrence Lader, chairman of the board of the National Abortion Rights Action League (N.A.R.A.L.). His concern is shared by his colleagues, for the antiabortionists plan further action. The House has passed a bill that would prevent federally financed legal-assistance programs from helping anyone obtain an abortion. New York's Senator James Buckley has won Senate approval for an amendment to the Social Security Act that would prohibit the use of Medicaid funds for abortions, thus denying such operations to many of the poor. Both could well be enacted during the current session of Congress.

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