There was an interesting article recently about what might happen if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. See “The Day After Roe” by Jeffrey Rosen, The Atlantic Monthly (June 2006). The article made several points, the gist of which being that abortion is a “wedge” for Democrats and a “unifying” issue for Republicans; however, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, the abortion issue would, politically speaking, have the opposite effect. Democrats would become united in their efforts to push for state legislation preserving a woman’s right to have an abortion; while religious extremists would demand a complete ban on abortion, driving moderate conservatives from the Republican party, resulting in the loss of political power. We have already seen a preview of the coming attractions with the recent ban on abortion by South Dakota, which is now backfiring on its Republican proponents.