Each protest brought a guarantee of police involvement. It was the late 1980's and Randall Terry's radical anti-abortion activist group called Operation Rescue was at its greatest height. Terry had his roots in the Southern Tier of New York State. I was working in Binghamton then. It was a matter of routine that police would be on the scene when Terry organized a demonstration in front of an office of a physician who performed abortions. Operation Rescue stood strong. It used civil disobedience. It forced public conversation about the abortion issue.

Abortion had been a hot button issue as President Reagan's conservatism took hold in the '80's. Only a decade before the Supreme Court had legalized it through Roe v. Wade. Every political candidate had to discuss his or her views on whether they were Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. One of the people at the center of the debate in the Syracuse area was current Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle. She was the spokesperson for Operation Rescue.

In more recent campaigns views on abortion have not been front and center. Certainly in the last few congressional races terrorism, the Iraq War and the economy have been dominant issues pushing issues surrounding the unborn out. Yet, suddenly this new congress has put abortion back on the map. A vote to cut funding to Planned Parenthood has grabbed the attention of both sides of the issue.

Congresswoman Buerkle was elected with hardly any discussion of her stance on abortion. Now she's on the news discussing her vote while demonstrators have returned to the sidewalks of Syracuse making sure their position is heard.

Any questions or comment please forward them to mattsmemo@CNYcentral.com.   I may even use some of your thoughts on NBC 3 News at 5:00,  the 10:00 News on CW6 or on CNYcentral.com.                                 

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