old justices

Times Slams Romney-Ryan’s Abortion Stance

Photo: Kiichiro Sato/Corbis

At the vice-presidential debate last week, Paul Ryan dodged the question of whether supporters of abortion rights should be worried if the Romney-Ryan ticket were elected. Today, the New York Times editorial board answered for him, synthesizing years of Mitt Romney’s conflicting stances into a resounding “yes.” 

“It would not take much to overturn the Roe decision … If say, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the oldest member, retired and Mr. Romney named a replacement hostile to abortion rights, the basic right to abortion might well not survive … There is every indication that about half the states would make abortion illegal within a year of Roe being struck down, according to the Guttmacher Institute.”

Then, as in the days before Roe v. Wade, rich women travel to states where abortion is legal and poor women are left to choose between having a child they can’t afford and going to an illegal, and potentially needlessly unsafe, provider. “Some women would die,” the Times wrote. 

The Obama campaign should consider adding “Allowing Sweet, Old Justice Ginsburg to Retire in Peace” to its platform. 

Times Slams Romney-Ryan’s Abortion Stance