Court Hears Abortion Opinions Amid Protest

WASHINGTON — Abortion opponents, backed by the Bush Administration, today urged the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 1973 ruling giving women the right to terminate their pregnancies. The showdown spilled into the streets, where more than two dozen demonstrators were arrested.

“The United States asks this court to reconsider and overrule its decision in Roe vs. Wade,” said Harvard law professor Charles Fried, the former solicitor general who was asked to return to Administration service for this case.

Fried was one of three lawyers participating in an hourlong argument over disputed Missouri abortion regulations, a case that has become a focal point for the emotionally charged battle over a woman’s right to end her pregnancy.

“We are not asking the court to unravel the fabric” of individual privacy rights, Fried told the justices. “We are asking the court to pull this one thread.”

But St. Louis lawyer Frank Susman, representing those who successfully challenged the restrictive Missouri regulations in lower courts, responded, “When I pull a thread, my sleeve falls off. There is no stopping. It is not a thread he’s after.”

‘They Agonize’

Susman urged the justices to uphold the 1973 ruling, stating, “Women do not make these decisions lightly. They agonize over them. . . . State legislatures have no business invading this decision.”

Missouri Atty. Gen. William Webster, defending the state’s abortion regulations, said, “The government certainly is not obligated to become an advocate for abortion.”

He contended that lower courts were “clearly wrong” when they struck down a state legislative declaration that “life begins at conception.”

As the justices, with questions from the bench, probed the positions of each lawyer, the usually tranquil scene outside the court building offered an indication of how deeply public opinion runs on the issue.

Hundreds of demonstrators--with the pro-choice faction outnumbering the anti-abortion side by about 10 to 1--carried competing banners and placards that said, “Keep Abortion Legal,” “Women Must Have the Right to Choose” and “Abortion Is Murder.” There were 27 arrests on charges of unlawful entry for crossing police lines.

‘To See History’

Some people arrived at the court as early as Tuesday afternoon hoping to get a prized seat inside for the arguments.

“I’m here to see history,” said Jordy Green, a sophomore at Dartmouth College who arrived at 6 p.m. Tuesday to assure himself a courtroom seat. He said he is neutral on the abortion issue.

The justices will take their initial private vote in the Missouri case Friday, discussing their views and beginning the process of drafting and redrafting opinions to accompany the announcement of the court’s decision, expected by July.

In an attempt to sway the justices, Americans in record numbers have been writing and telephoning the court to express their views. Tens of thousands of letters arrive each day, and the court’s two switchboards were so flooded with calls that a rarely used third board had to be activated.