The mourning after

Abortion | Does abortion negatively affect women? Pro-abortion forces say no but act as if it does | Lynn Vincent

When abortion activists last year squared off in South Dakota over Referred Law 6, the state legislature's outright ban on abortion, the central issue remained the same as it has since 1973: the sanctity of Roe v. Wade. But the battleground itself had shifted mightily beneath the feet of the pro-abortion side.

Instead of focusing on a baby's right to life, supporters of South Dakota's ban zeroed in on the negative impact of abortion on women, on the consequences of a woman's natural aversion to killing her own child. Leslie Unruh, who directed the Vote Yes for Life campaign, crisscrossed the state with a group of post-abortive women who shared their experiences of grief, depression, and substance abuse.

Heading into the November election, The American Prospect published a long report on the strategy, billing it "Pro-lifers' Frightening New Tactic." The piece quoted Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota and the Dakotas: "The abortion-hurts-women movement is the most serious issue that we are dealing with in the election in South Dakota." Stoesz shared similar thoughts with the Los Angeles Times: Unruh's argument "adds an element we're not accustomed to. It's a different line of debate. And it's something we struggle with politically."