According to McCain's campaign Web site, overturning Roe v. Wade is only the beginning of his plans. From the site:

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned...

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion…The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level.

Dammit, today is not a good day. GEORGE CARLIN is dead, and I am having a difficult time dealing with this depressing political crap.

I really think he's playing to the crowd in these clips. He knows damn well that the chance of overturning RvW get slimmer and slimmer with every revolution of the second hand. Still, it remains a political litmus test and one he's got to come down on the right side of with certain factions or they'll just stay home on election day.

And, curiously, the video is no longer available...

An anti-choice Republican? What a maverick!

I tend to agree with rtred. I'm not shaking in my boots when it comes to the reversal of Roe v. Wade. It's not going to happen tomorrow, or even soon. Reversing Roe v. Wade is too big of a step, but that doesn't mean we should ignore politicians or anyone else who says their goal is to overturn Roe v. Wade, end abortion, or "build a consensus" regarding this issue (since we know that's just code for brainwashing). These so-called compassionate armies like to take baby steps (or zygote steps, if that's what you think). They're going to limit other rights that people seem apathetic about, like the right to accurate sexuality education and emergency contraception. When they do try to outlaw abortion outright, it's only at the state level in red states where they think they can get away with it, like South Dakota and Louisiana. And even in those laws, life imprisonment or the death penalty is not the sentence for the doctor who performs the abortion or the woman who gets; it's only a 5-year sentence and a fine at the most for the doctor who performs it. That's because they know nobody would go for that shit. Also, they limit abortion rights for minors by advocating for parental consent laws, not an age restriction on abortion altogether. Anti-choicers aren't going to sweep the rug right from underneath. They'll chip away at our rights little by little, starting with the type of legislation that they think people will agree with or at least compromise with, until all of our reproductive rights are gone. So we just can't sit here and take it easy like a frog in a pot of gradually hotter water. We have to make sure we win the smaller battles, like making sure John McCain doesn't become president, to ensure our reproductive freedoms.

Sorry for the rambling :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MrXvDXVhqfU

"Pro Life is Anti-Woman" by George Carlin.

A feminist who I'll truly miss.

That's what he says now. In 1999 Senator McCain said, "certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations."

FEMily,
I agree that they are not going to just sweep the rug right out from under us but I would argue that a lot of the chipping away is already starting with abstinence only sex education. all the trigger laws in states, and the moral clauses (Jill at Feministe has a lot more about it) The difference is though, the average person isn't going to pay attention to this stuff unless it is directly affecting them so, if Roe v. Wade does get overturned, although we may have seen it coming, your average person will really feel like the rug has been swept out from under them and that's the danger in this "maverick" label and why we need to make it clear that McCain is a danger to Roe V. Wade and women in general. All that needs to happen is for him to get to appoint one S.C. Justice and for one case to make it the court...A lot can happen in four years that can change our lives forever

Yes, I wasn't trying to make it like these things weren't already happening. And I really do hope that there will be a bright spotlight on McCain regarding his record on reproductive rights, especially during the debates. Feminists have to inundate whatever networks are hosting them with questions about it, especially since he wasn't initially in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. And we have to make sure to start off with, "The American public has this idea that you're a maverick, but . . . ."

I honestly don't think McCain cares one way or another about reproductive issues. McMaverick goes into a frenzy when talking another 100 years in Iraq or bombing Iran. I just wrote a post about his anti-choice stance and he was against overturning Roev Wade because of the potential for illegal and unsafe abortions.

"I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations."

John McCain, on the 1999 campaign trail.

The 2007 version of McCain got around the unsafe abortion problem. His solution is hope.

Q: But if Roe v. Wade was overturned during a McCain presidency, and individual states chose to ban abortion, would you be concerned that, as you said, X number of women in America would undergo illegal and dangerous operations?

McCain: No, I would hope that X women in America would bring those children into birth and into life in this world.

McCain is making this up as he goes along. I never thought a say this, but McCain almost makes Bush look smart. Almost.

WooHoo! A man of conviction who thinks killing babies is wrong.

Gawd, what a pathetic species we've become when ~that is considered brave in this amoral, relativistic political world.

We hardly deserve evolutionary success.....

The funny part about this video, though, is the fact that they played Yankee Doodle, which may also be known to people of my generation as the Barney the Dinosaur theme song. McCain is, verily, "a dinosaur sensation".

John McCain: Supporting Freedom...

...except for those people who dare to have uterii.