Views on abortion: USA Today offers contrasting points on effort to set ban after 20 weeks; Democrats can fight back against inroads made by abortion opponents

USA Today: 20-Week Abortion Ban Too Soon: Our View
The 20-week bans are the latest front in the abortion wars that have raged ever since the Supreme Court's decision 40 years ago in Roe v. Wade. In addition to the state bans, the U.S. House passed a 20-week limit in June, using the atrocities by Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell as a rallying cry. Preventing murders like the ones Gosnell committed is certainly an urgent goal. But 20-week bans won't do it and could, in fact, create more tragedies than they prevent (6/30). 

USA Today: Halt Arbitrary Fetal Euthanasia: Opposing View
The trial of Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell brought the gruesome nature of late-term abortion to the forefront of the national consciousness. A recent Gallup poll indicates that Americans overwhelmingly support banning later abortions. The difference between Gosnell's actions in killing the child after it is born alive and aborting the child in the womb is merely a matter of location (Anna Higgins, 6/30). 

The New York Times: No Letup On The Right To Choose
Wendy Davis, a Texas state senator, got national attention last week for her marathon filibuster against an extremist package of abortion restrictions. Ms. Davis's dramatic gesture is unlikely to stop the hard-right Texas Legislature from passing the bill, and there are many similar measures around the country that are part of a nonstop attack on women's reproductive rights by Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups. But her uprising, which shot around the country on Twitter and the rest of the social Web, showed that Democrats can fight back against the anti-abortion-rights campaign (6/29).

Bloomberg: Wendy Davis' Argument And The Future Of Abortion Rights
The forces gathered to undermine abortion rights -- including many who entered state legislatures in the 2010 elections -- are impressively thorough and dangerously extreme. Davis's lone, passionate voice, even speaking for 10-plus hours, was never going to prevail against such a national juggernaut. Yet the two sides are not as unequally matched as it might seem (6/30).

The New York Times: Room For Debate: Coming Out On Abortion
For years, conservatives rallied support around opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Support for same-sex marriage has grown, in part, because opponents have realized that friends and relatives are gay. But Republicans have continued to press for tougher laws against abortion. The Guttmacher Institute says 30 percent of American women have had an abortion by age 40. Would support for abortion rights grow if more women discussed their abortions? (6/30).