Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 22, 1990 TAG: 9003222695
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE SHENANDOAH BUREAU
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
"Arguably, you have not seen a drastic decrease in abortions," said Webster, speaking to law students at the University of Virginia. Webster said only 50 abortions had taken place in public facilities in Missouri anyway before the state law restricting publicly funded abortion services took effect.
The day after the law was signed by the governor, said Webster, he was sued - the first step in the landmark abortion rights case that became Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services.
The U.S. Supreme Court eventually upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri law, 5-4, in July 1989. "A lot of people said, `Why did you put your name on it?' " said Webster of the Supreme Court case. "I didn't. I was sued," he added to laughter.
He said he was neither "a sponsor nor a drafter" of the bill that created the Missouri abortion law, which also required that doctors test for the viability of the fetus at 20 weeks.
Asked later during a question period if he supported overturning Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 case that established a woman's right to abortion, Webster said that never was the purpose of the Webster case.
"We said first thing out of the box, `You don't need to touch Roe,' " Webster said of Missouri's arguments to the nation's top court. "We told them it wasn't necessary [to overturn Roe] to uphold Missouri law. We really took a very narrow view."
Webster said at least three Supreme Court justices are in favor of overturning the Roe decision, however. The Webster decision was seen by abortion rights supporters as a crack in the foundation of the historic Roe case.
Though the Webster case may not have much effect on the volume of abortions, Webster said, it has had other consequences. "It has certainly created the opportunity to shift the [abortion] battleground to the states to decide their own destinies . . . It's certainly going to be a political battleground in the next few years."
He noted the abortion issue had already had a political impact in some states, including Virginia. The candidates' positions on abortion was an issue in last year's Virginia gubernatorial race.
Webster, who came to Charlottesville after arguing an anti-trust case before the Supreme Court, spoke to law students at UVa's Caplin Auditorium.
His talk ranged over several legal issues he has faced as Missouri's attorney general, including abortion, anti-trust and the right to die. Webster's talk was sponsored by the law school's Student Legal Forum.
by CNB