01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, August 14, 2005

WHAT NARAL Pro-Choice America was up to remains unclear, but we who defend a right to abortion wish the group would go away. The group created an uproar by running a television ad that linked U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to the criminal who bombed a clinic in Birmingham, Ala.

The ad has been pulled, thank you. It was so off-the-wall you wondered whether NARAL really cared about preserving our reproductive rights or whether it just wanted to raise a quick buck by manufacturing a crisis. Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan group that judges political ads for accuracy, said the spot was false, misleading and unfair.

The abortion issue doesn't belong in a Punch and Judy show. It is a tough issue, or should be, for everyone.

Despite years of passionate campaigns by abortion foes, the pro-choice view continues to prevail in America. A mere 17 percent of those polled by ABC News/Washington Post say that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances. That doesn't mean that the remaining 83 percent of Americans want no restrictions placed on abortion. Most do, and they should. But the fact remains that a clear majority supports the basic right.

Contrary to popular perceptions, the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling does not guarantee an unlimited right to abortion. Roe leaves the decision totally to the woman and her doctor in only the first trimester. It lets states restrict abortions in the second trimester and outlaw them in the third, unless necessary to preserve a woman's "life and health." We can argue over whether Roe v. Wade is good constitutional law, but as public policy on abortion, it's not bad.

That said, a discussion on what we mean by the "health" of the woman is well justified. Congress dealt with the matter by simply crossing off "health" as a concern. Its law forbidding late-term abortions -- "partial birth" abortions to "pro-life" activists -- only lets them save the life of the woman. Partly because of the "health" exception in Roe, lower courts have thrown out such bans.

Most of us agree that these abortions should be done only under extraordinary circumstances. So if by "health" we mean the psychic well-being of someone who decided late in the game that she didn't want a baby, then no, the pregnancy must go to full term. But if something has gone terribly wrong, and the woman would be physically ravaged by continuing a pregnancy, then we must have a different kind of debate.

Other fights over abortion take place mostly around the edges. Some states have imposed laws requiring parental notification for minors or brief waiting periods. Both impositions may be bad ideas, but they do not threaten the basic right.

Whatever the issue, activists don't advance their cause by driving in a tank and firing wildly at a Supreme Court nominee -- especially one who doesn't seem to be their enemy. No one knows how Roberts personally feels about abortion, but he did say in 2003 that Roe was "the settled law of the land." (By the way, a recent poll shows that 65 percent of Americans want Roberts to uphold Roe.)

In any case, Roberts is no conservative boogeyman. Indeed, he's been the right wing's punching bag in the last week or so for having once helped gay-rights activists overturn an offensive referendum in Colorado.

NARAL's ham-fisted approach forces groups like Catholics for a Free Choice or The Republican Majority for Choice to fight a two-front war. They already have angry "pro-lifers" coming at them from one direction. They shouldn't have to distance themselves from erstwhile allies. These groups speak to people with very mixed feelings about abortion. Their task is a delicate one.

Even NARAL, somewhere in the back of its brain, understands the sensitivities involved. NARAL, after all, recently took the word "abortion" out of its name. NARAL used to call itself the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

Whatever side NARAL is working for, it doesn't seem to be the side of being effective. The group has gotten a burst of publicity, for sure. But that's no great accomplishment in this land of instant outrage. Anyone can do it on a slow day in August.

Froma Harrop is a Journal editorial writer and syndicated columnist. She may be reached by e-mail at: fharrop [at] projo.com.