To the Point

Mississippi, Model for a Post-Roe v Wade America?

President Bush may get enough Supreme Court appointments to jeopardize Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion in 1973. A recent CBS/New York Times poll says 43% of Americans think most forms of abortion will be illegal by the end of his second term, but the State of Mississippi has already managed what seemed impossible--preventing most abortions while Roe v. Wade still stands. We look at Mississippi's legal and social strategies, and the state's record of child poverty, teen pregnancy and infant mortality, with abortion scholars, pro-life and pro-choice advocates, and a consultant to that state's only health clinic still providing legal abortions. Making News: Terror Scare in Boston The Mayor of Boston, Governor of Massachusetts and US Attorney are telling the people of Boston not to worry after published reports, including mug shots, that four Chinese nationals and two Iraqis were heading their way with possible terrorism in mind. Veteran terrorism expert Brian Jenkins, senior advisor to the president of RAND, says the public will have to adjust to this new reality as authorities try to separate fictitious threat from malicious intent. Reporter's Notebook: Middle East Reaction to President Bush's Inaugural Speech When President Bush called yesterday for spreading "freedom" and ending "tyranny," he gave no specifics, but the implication that he was talking about the Middle East was easy to draw, and in a radio interview yesterday morning, Vice President Cheney put Iran "at the top of the list." Fawaz Gerges, chair of International Affairs at Sara Lawrence College in New York, considers how those statements are being received in the Middle East.