Panel of alumnae focuses on threats to abortion rights. Speakers say right to choose still at issue with court vacancies
By Ginger Brown
The Daily Texan
Leading figures in Texas women's movement in the '60s and '70s held a panel discussion yesterday in the Texas Union about how they gained ground in the birth-control battle and how young people can continue to do the same.
These women are all UT graduates and took part of Austin's first counterculture newspaper, The Rag, in the '60s. They were also responsible for bringing the Roe v. Wade case before the U.S. Supreme Court by recruiting the then 26-year-old Sarah Weddington, also speaking at the event, to defend the case in court. "I was probably the most unlikely candidate for the job," said Weddington, who before then had not tried any disputed cases. "But they needed a woman lawyer - I was the only one they had ever heard of, and they needed one for free." "This panel today was so important, because the same fights they fought are still being fought today," said Sarah Wheat, director of public affairs at NARAL Pro-Choice Texas. Because of the U.S. Supreme Court's need for two new justices, pro-choice activists are concerned new rulings will overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. "The times are comin' again," said Judy Smith, another panelist and director of an affordable housing agency in Montana. "We're preparing for abortion to become illegal in this state," said Juliana Gonzales, Whole Woman's Health administrator. "It's clear we've been on the boundary and now with the extra vote in the Supreme Court it's only a matter of time before there are more restrictive laws in the Austin area. It's unfortunate, the impact it's going to have on women's lives." Some feel it will not be such a direct threat, but may cause retrogression in the movement. "It's more likely to chip away at the right to choose than it is to overrule," said Douglas Laycock, associate dean of the UT School of Law. "What can change with only one vote is they can uphold more restrictions and make it more difficult and more expensive. So it does pose a threat, but probably not as eminent a threat as these folks are afraid." Activists fear that if abortion is made illegal, women will resort to illegal and unsafe options. "It's about keeping birth control options safe and legal," Wheat said. "The main concern is to move forward and not back." The event was sponsored by the student organization Voices for Choice. Barbara Hines, Victoria Foe and Lin Smith also spoke at the event. Victoria Torres, the vice president of Voices for Choice, said the panel was put together to give today's youth insight on what happened in the past and what can be done in the future. "This is a real threat," Torres said. "In 2005 we are fighting for our right to choose."
| 
