If you haven’t settled on who to vote for yet, here is an issue that might help you make up your mind about who you want in office. It hasn’t gotten a whole lot of coverage this election, but it probably should because according to experts, it could possibly be one of the biggest factors pulling the swing vote in this election.

The issue is abortion. One thing everyone should consider when they go to the polls in just about two weeks from now is where they stand on the abortion issue. Depending on who gets elected, a woman’s right to choose, as we now know it could change within the next four years.

During the next president’s term in office, there could be up to four justices retiring from the Supreme Court. The person who gets to appoint people to fill the vacancies on the bench is the president. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to infer the president will appoint new justices with the same ideas about politics and issues concerning our country. Especially issues like abortion. If the conservative George W. Bush gets elected and appoints conservative judges with approval from the senate, there is a good possibility Roe v. Wade could be overturned giving states the right to make abortions illegal again.

According to an article in the New York Times, presently there are six justices that approve of Roe v. Wade, and three that want it overruled. That means all Bush would have to do is replace two of the pro-choice justices with two pro-life justices and Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

For everyone out there that might not be familiar with Roe v. Wade, it was a case presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 that passed with a vote of 7-2 in favor of making abortions legal in the United States. Ever since then, it has been an issue that has been debated between political parties and all of society.

The abortion issue is hotter than ever. With the FDA approving the abortion pill RU-486, abortions are now more private and more convenient (if you could call it that).

Because of this new revolution in the medical field, RU-486 has just added fuel to the fire of the ever burning pro-choice vs. pro-life debate.

George W. Bush and most other republicans are pro-life and oppose abortions in almost all cases. According to the Web site issues2000.org, George W. Bush said he thinks the approval of RU-486 is wrong and is worried about it being overused. Bush does not approve of abortions at all, and he wants to make all partial-birth abortions illegal.

On the other hand, Al Gore and most other democrats are pro-choice and believe in women deciding what happens to their bodies and upholding the Roe v. Wade decision. According to the same Web site, issues2000.org, Gore said on January 30, “the abortion question is for women, not government or the president.” Gore also stated in an article from USA Today, “I trust women to make decisions that affect their lives, their destinies and their bodies.”

Gore thinks the only way to insure abortions are done safely is to keep them legal so the government can monitor them.

I have to agree with Gore that abortions should stay legal. Even though I don’t totally approve of them, there is no way that just because abortions are illegal that people won’t want to get them anyway. If women get abortions illegally, they are putting their health at risk. Before abortions were legal, women were getting them done illegally – sometimes with people who didn’t know what they were doing – with unsterile tools, and sometimes were never able to have children again.

At least with abortions being legal, if a woman decides terminating her pregnancy is the right decision for her, she can take comfort in the fact that the doctor performing the abortion knows what they are doing.

A ruling overturning Roe v. Wade would have much deeper implications than just making abortions illegal again. It would take away a woman’s right to decide what happens to her body. The thought of the government telling women that regardless of what they want for themselves, seems like a violation of personal rights.

According to issues2000.org, in June 1999, Al Gore said he would “Always, always defend a woman’s right to choose.” That is the type of attitude I would like to see in the White House.

I hope I have made you all more aware of what is going on with the election and abortion this year. I hope you all vote for whichever side you agree with. Depending on which side wins, it could change a lot of things for a long time to come.