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'Vera Drake' and the abortion debate

The threat of a pro-life court looms in Bush's second term.

I saw "Vera Drake" last night, and it set me thinking in a way no movie has all year.

The newest film from British director Mike Leigh ("Secrets and Lies," "Topsy-Turvy") takes place in a working-class 1950s English neighborhood where the titular character, a middle-aged woman wonderfully played by the stage actress Imelda Staunton, performs abortions in private for young women in need.

She moves with a smile on her face and a cup of tea in her hand, working out of the goodness of her heart. The fact that abortions are illegal in England at the time of the film, however, poses a problem for her - one that she must ultimately face in court.

Abortion certainly is not a new discussion topic, and those who paid any attention whatsoever to the presidential campaign understand the complexities of a society where abortion is legal and highly debated. What "Vera Drake" depicts well is what society is like without legalized abortion.

When abortion is made illegal, women continue to do it through unsafe means; in "Vera Drake," women use shredded soap and a cheese grater. Women who receive abortions are often victims of rape or incest, or they are so poor that there is no way that they can realistically hope to raise a child.

The film neither praises nor condemns Vera; what she does is dangerous, but the girls don't feel that they have any other place to turn.

We in America are now faced with a government that is conservative in all three branches, and we are compelled to view a movie like "Vera Drake" not just as social document but also as allegory. Much has been made of the fact that President Bush will likely appoint perhaps two new Supreme Court justices during his next term, and also of the fact that the judges would be conservative.

The last time that the Supreme Court ruled on abortion, the justices favored it 5-4, and it is quite possible that we are growing closer to the society of Vera Drake each day.

If another conservative Supreme Court justice is appointed, the very real possibility arises that Roe v. Wade could be overturned within the next several years. It is no secret that the pro-life movement in America is deeply rooted in religious fundamentalism, a fundamentalism that Republicans have increasingly catered to over the past 20 years.

It is more likely than not that a conservative government could take steps toward appeasing the Christian right by declaring abortion to be infanticide. I doubt that the Supreme Court would allow abortion to be a state issue - making the rulings on a state-to-state basis would lead to people flocking to those states that allow it, so it is likely that abortion would be outlawed in America altogether.

Abortion, however, is not only an issue of religion but also of class. If abortion were illegal, there would be no system of regulation. As with drugs, the rich would seek out the safest specialists, while the poor would have to gamble with their lives by desperately resorting to the unsafe and unsanitary Vera Drakes. Outlawing abortion would not only marginalize the secular population of America that desires it, but would also jeopardize the safety of those who actually need it.

There were a lot of things that I did not like about John Kerry's campaign, but there were also several moments where he genuinely distinguished himself as a strong candidate. One such moment came during the second presidential debate: In response to a question about abortion, Kerry said that although he was a devout Catholic, he would not try to legislate his beliefs. Political values like Kerry's are few and far between, and those who claim America is a secular nation need only look at the way Tuesday's election came down to morals to see how such a claim is mistaken.

With Chief Justice William Rehnquist ill with cancer, the next conservative appointment could come any day now. And I am scared.

Aaron Cutler '08 has gone duck-hunting with William Rehnquist.


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