IF THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE AND ABORTION IS MADE A CRIME, THE PENALTY SHOULD BE...WHAT?!?

On the back page of the August 6 issue of Newsweek, columnist Anna Quindlen devotes her whole column to the question posed in my headline.

After reading her column, I couldn't help but say, "Hmmmm..."

Think about it, gang. Our Supreme Court may now have the five votes need to overturn Roe V. Wade. If that happens, the whole abortion argument becomes a states issue. If I understand things correctly (and I might not), if a state were to choose to do nothing, abortion wouldn't be a crime, but some privacy issues would probably be affected. Some states would figure to ban abortion. Some, like Massachusetts, would figure to not ban abortion. But let's, for the sake of argument, speculate about states that did ban abortion. A state like, say, Missouri. If a woman had an abortion in Missouri, that would then be a crime. What would the penalty be? According to Quindlen's research, that is a question even the most ardent supporters of banning abortion either don't have an answer for (to) or they don't want to go "on the record" with an answer.

And isn't that interesting?

It's real simple. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade and the state you live in decides to ban abortion, getting an abortion would then be a crime. Here's a question for you! Yes, you, the person reading this blog. If you're against abortion and abortion were to become illegal in your state, what do you think the penalty should be? Prison for the woman who had the abortion? If so, for how long? What about the doctor who performed the abortion? Prison for him or her, too? Or what other penalty might you suggest? I'd love to hear what you think! Please tell me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net.

SWITCHING TO A LIGHTER NOTE...

ABC's "The View" has a new moderator. Whoopi Goldberg is taking the role that was recently held by Rosie O'Donnell. After show creator Barbara Walters announced Goldberg's hiring on the air, Goldberg ran down the aisle of the studio while slapping hands with the audience. After that, Goldberg looked at the rest of the panel and said, "I love this show! I love coming on it! I love hanging out with you guys!"

What a lot of people liked about O'Donnell was that you never knew what she was going to say and that there weren't any "off limits" subjects. Whoopi Goldberg won't be, nor will she try to be Rosie O'Donnell, but no one has to worry about Goldberg being some kind of wallflower, either. And how about Whoopi Goldberg's show business "street cred"? She is one of very few performers to win an Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy award.

"JOHN FROM CINCINNATI" MIGHT NOW BE ON LIFE SUPPORT:

According the L.A. Daily News' television columnist, David Kronke, HBO has not been sending out episodes of "John From Cincinnati" to critics. They sent out the first three episodes, but none since. Kronke points out that the reason this is news is because HBO sends everything to critics. David Milch is the creator of "John From Cincinnati". Milch also created "Deadwood" for HBO and Milch had a lot to do with the success of ABC's "NYPD Blue". Kronke writes that HBO's problem is that "They want to hold on to Milch, but they don't want to air the kind of recherche material he's become keen on."

Short Commentary: First of all, I didn't know what "recherche" meant, so I looked it up in case you were/are as curious as I was. Some of the words used to describe the meaning of "recherche" in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary are "Exotic", "Affected", "Pretentious" and "Overblown".

Yeah, that pretty much covers "John From Cincinnati"! If you haven't seen it, "John From Cincinnati" is weirder than weird. To me, it's a combination of "Twin Peaks" and "Deadwood". The "Twin Peaks'" possibilities are fascinating, but (to me) the "Deadwood" stuff is annoying because I hear fine actors delivering lines from dialogue that sounds like it was lifted from "Deadwood"! When I hear actors (who are simply following orders) do that I want to throw something at my television!

Having said all that, I have to admit that I've seen every episode and I'm looking forward to the next episode of "John From Cincinnati".

EDITOR'S NOTE: A new blog is written every morning, Monday through Friday and is posted between 7 and 7:15, Pacific Time. Sometimes earlier. Questions and comments can be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I do write back.

TOMORROW: I'll write a little about "The Bourne Ultimatum", you'll read some letters written by two people about Cardinal Roger Mahony and the abused priests he provided "cover" for annnnd...anything else that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?"