Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 3

A "a'. Salem, Sunday, March 18, 1990 WASHINGTON, D.C. Page7A tarclfs role in aboriom tay debated! Political, theological questions merge Idaho, Guam bills could test court's stance on abortion i A it I i 1 I f'VT ill "Roe vs. Wade is on the skids." David Forte Cleveland-Marshall Law School "The prelates seem to imply that Al Smith and John Kennedy were wrong in contending that Catholics in politics are as free as communicants of other faiths." Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. In the New York Times.

7 if The Associated Press WASHINGTON When a Roman Catholic bishop banned a candidate for the California Senate from receiving communion because she supports legal abortions, the voters delivered her an upset victory. And when New York Gov. Mario Cuomo was threatened with the fires of hell, he shrugged off a bishop's SSt his Debate in stand on abor- Northwest tion. PageIC Despite such failures, religious leaders particularly Roman Catholics have increased their efforts to influence politicians on abortion, according to abortion-rights activists. The pressure tactics have touched off a debate in political and theological circles about the role of the church in modern politics.

It is a revival of the controversy that John F. Kennedy had to quiet before winning the presidency 30 years ago and that presidential nominee Al Smith faced as a Catholic before him. "The prelates seem to imply that Al Smith and John Kennedy were wrong in contending that Catholics in politics are as free as communicants of other faiths," historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote in The New York Times. If they had spoken then as they speak now, John F.

Kennedy would never have been elected president." The anti-abortion pressure from religious leaders is not coming solely from Catholics. A state representative in New Hampshire, Republican Stephanie Micklon, was barred from membership in the charismatic American Baptist Church that she grew up in after she sponsored a bill to put a woman's right to an abortion into state law. Micklon was told that she was not religiously acceptable to her church, and that she "brought disgrace upon the name of Jesus Christ," she said. "This is religious blackmail. If I had changed my vote, I was reli- Gannett News Service Two bills that severely restrict a woman's access to abortion one in Idaho, the other in Guam could lead to the Supreme Court overturning its Roe vs.

Wade decision granting women unrestricted access to abortion, anti-abortionists say. These bills are considered the most restrictive to come before legislatures since the high court's Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services ruling last year that renewed states' authority to limit or ban use of public money or sites to perform abortions. The most restrictive signed into law since the Webster ruling is Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act of 1989, portions of which are facing a legal challenge. The law: Bans abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Bans sex-selection abortions. Establishes a 24-hour waiting period before a woman may undergo an abortion. Requires a woman to notify her husband before having an abortion. In contrast, Idaho's bill which its Senate is expected to begin debating Wednesday would outlaw as much as 98 percent of all abortions in the state. Abortions would be allowed only in cases of rape, incest, profound fetal deformity or threats to the life or health of the mother.

The bill would also: Ban abortions for women not reporting a rape within seven days. Prohibit abortions for victims of statutory rape. Allow abortions for incest only for victims younger than 18. All of those provisions are expected to face constitutional challenge. Pro-choice advocates said they still had a chance to head off the bill.

"The effort is going on," said Jack Van Valkenburgh, the legislative coordinator for the Idaho Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "I'm not going to make predictions about what's going to happen in the Senate." David Forte of the Cleveland-Marshall Law School in giously acceptable." The salvation of Cuomo, a Catholic and potential 1992 Democratic presidential candidate, was called into question when Auxiliary Bishop Austin Vaughan in January said Cuomo "takes a very serious risk of going straight to hell" for supporting abortion rights. Cuomo gave Roman Catholic bishops credit for helping foster national debate on abortion, but he said they can expect a backlash when they attempt to influence elections. Some other political analysts agreed. "When the church gets too heavyhanded, they have problems," Charles Cook, the author of a Washington-based political newsletter, said.

"They can work quietly, and it's effective, but when they go too far, it's going to hurt them." A state Senate race in California last fall is cited as one example. Democrat Lucy Killea, running in a special election, was barred from taking communion because of her support for abortion rights. Her subsequent victory was widely credited to the attention and sympathy generated by the ban imposed by Bishop Leo Maher of San Diego. Members of Catholics for Free Choice, a private group that supports abortion rights, said they know of cases where Catholic pub Cleveland, who is anti-abortion, said after the action by the Idaho Senate's State Affairs Committee: "Roe vs. Wade is on the skids.

If it doesn't go with this piece of legislation, it'll go with another one." The Guam and Idaho bills are the last remaining anti-abortion proposals before legislatures this year. Both are part of a model package of anti-abortion legislation drafted by the National Right to Life Committee. Similar bills were defeated by legislatures in Alabama, Maryland, Minnesota and Utah. Guam's bill, passed unanimously by the territorial Legislature and awaiting action by Gov. Joseph V.

Ada, would essentially ban all abortions, according to lawyer Janet Ben-shoof, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project. The bill calls for a Nov. 6 referendum on whether voters want to retain an anti-abortion law. It also would make performing of an abortion a third-degree felony and make it a misdemeanor for a woman to submit to or seek an abortion. Ada has indicated a strong possibility that he will sign the legislation, Benshoof said.

Even if the bill becomes law, its future is uncertain. Territorial Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson has issued an opinion indicating that it is unconstitutional because it would violate a woman's right to privacy. It faces a certain challenge by the ACLU, Benshoof said, because "the ultimate decision may have consequences for women not only in Guam but for over 30 million women in the mainland United States as well. "This legislation will result in women turning to back-alley abortionists and unsafe self-abortions as ways of terminating unwanted pregnancies." lic officeholders or candidates have been pressured by church leaders on the abortion issue. Frances Kissling, the president of the group, cited cases in Montana, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Washington, New York, New Jersey and California.

Killea is the only known case where a Catholic politician has been denied communion because of abortion views. But others, Kissling said, have felt more subtle threats. "They're afraid afraid they're going to get up one morning and be refused communion, afraid they're going to be embarrassed by church officials," she said. Although Kissling worries about a chilling effect, some political leaders said they saw no evidence that church activity was hurting the abortion-rights cause. "It can be a powerful tool, but I think it's backfiring," said Kate Michelman, the head of the National Abortion Rights Action League.

"There's a great sensitivity in this country to separation of church and state." The National Right to Life Committee, the leading anti-abortion lobbying group, works with church groups but distances itself from the actions of religious leaders. "We just don't really get involved in religious issues," spokeswoman Nancy Myers said. Marion Barry Returned last week from therapy D.C. mayor comes out fighting IThe Associated Press WASHINGTON Mayor Marion Barry is refusing to write out of the political script for the nation's capital even as he fights cocaine and perjury charges and confronts his personal addictions. "I'm back.

I feel good about myself," Barry said when he returned to the district last week after seven weeks of substance abuse treatment in Florida and South In speeches and interviews since his return, the mayor has tried to portray himself as a man rededi-cated to his job and waging a courageous battle against alcoholism and addiction to tranquilizers. He also sais he'll triumph over his legal problems. "He is the walking definition of chutzpah, and the main reason for that is that his entire life, he has been doing things people have told him he cannot do," local political commentator Mark Plotkin said. Barry vowed to complete his term in office and left open the possibility of seeking re-election in November. "Whether I run or don't run, I am not going to sit on the sidelines and let the city just go with- put any advice from me," he said.

Barry, charged with cocaine possession after an FBI sting operation at a Washington hotel in January, openly admits to a chemical dependency on alcohol and tranquilizers but has skirted questions about cocaine. The mayor is scheduled for trial dune 4 on five misdemeanor charges of cocaine possession and three counts of lying to a grand jury about his drug involvement. Conviction on any of the perjury charges would permanently bar aim from holding office, but Barry frsisted that he would beat the fharges. Barry's legal and political troubles have left other mayoral hope-feils scrambling to siphon off his supporters, but the man who has directed the local political scene for more than a decade shows no signs of relinquishing power. "The mayor is clearly enjoying (imself, and is taking pleasure at faring the personal, human side of this," one Barry campaign aide said.

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