The Last Man of Conscience

Rest in peace, Assemblyman Michaels.

Digby:

When's the last time a person was willing to lose his or her seat in order to keep a women's right to choose from being restricted much less advancing it.

This man did it a long time ago:

Saturday, December 5, 1992

Former Assemblyman George M. Michaels, who cast the deciding vote to liberalize New York's abortion law in 1970, thereby ending his political career, died on Thursday at his home in Auburn, N.Y. He was 80 years old.

He died after a long illness, according to the Brew Funeral Home in Auburn.

A Democrat, Mr. Michaels represented a largely rural, mostly conservative and heavily Roman Catholic constituency in the Finger Lakes region of west-central New York.

That put him in a difficult position on the abortion issue. An 1832 state law forbade abortion except "when necessary to save a life." In the 1960's, legislation was introduced to make New York's law the most liberal in the nation, allowing abortion in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy if a woman and her doctor agreed to it. The proposal became the most dramatic, contentious and emotional issue before the 1970 Legislature.

A groundswell for change in abortion laws, which dated to the 19th century, had been building in the country. In 1965, Colorado became the first state to lessen the restrictions on abortion. A Reversal of Conscience

Mr. Michaels personally favored a woman's right to choose but had voted against the proposed law twice at the behest of the Cayuga County Democratic Committee. He did so at the beginning of April 1970 when the bill went down to a narrow defeat.

But on April 9, he realized that the measure was doomed without his support. He rose to take the microphone, his hands trembling. "I realize, Mr. Speaker, that I am terminating my political career, but I cannot in good conscience sit here and allow my vote to be the one that defeats this bill," he declared. "I ask that my vote be changed from 'no' to 'yes.' "

His tearful reversal provided the 76th vote needed for passage. The State Senate quickly added its approval and Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller signed the bill into law. "I found myself caught up in something bigger than I am," Mr. Michaels said about his agonizing decision. "I'm just a small country lawyer."

Mr. Michaels sought a sixth term that year, but piqued county leaders denied him renomination and he lost the June primary in a four-way race.

I guess that would be considered to be foolishly self-sacrificing in these days of "common ground" and looking for an easy way out. It's just a bargaining chip for more important issues about which Real Americans feel strongly. But there was a time when it was a matter of conscience and people thought such things were worth paying a political price for.

Society's acknowledgement of women as sentient adults with full legal rights, including control over their own bodies, is a good example of how history - even American history - is not a constantly rising arc of progress, but a roller-coaster of setbacks and renewed battles.