Abortion rights extremists continue to propagate myths about the potential impact of a conservative replacement for Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Although five of the current justices support the core finding of Roe, abortion rights activists suggest a Bush appointee will overturn abortion and cause thousands of women to die each year.

Feminist Majority president Eleanor Smeal is the latest liberal to spread the myth that Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement will overturn Roe v. Wade. "Abortion rights, access to birth control and women's rights are on the line," she wrote. [more from Michelle Malkin]

Similarly, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday, "It means a minimum of 5,000 women a year will die."

Its hard to imagine a U.S. Senator repeating this completely debunked legend. Annie from AfterAbortion writes:

We pointed out that this claim of 5,000-10,000 maternal deaths from pre-Roe abortions was an urban myth, as outed by

1. Dr. Christopher Tietze, a leading pro-abortion statistician for Planned Parenthood,


2. NARAL Co-founder Dr. Bernard Nathanson,


3. Dr. Andre Hellegers (before his death, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University), and


4. The Centers for Disease Control

... just to name a few.

No sooner did justice Sandra Day O’Connor announce her retirement when this appeared on the NOW homepage: "These are the faces of women who died because they could not obtain safe and legal abortions. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, these pictures could include your daughter, sister, mother, best friend, granddaughter. Don’t let George W. Bush and the U.S. Senate put another anti-abortion justice on the Supreme Court."

The stakes are "pretty high," MoveOn.org says. "If President Bush replaces Justice O'Connor with a conservative hard-liner, the balance of the court will shift dramatically. That one nomination could strip millions of Americans of constitutionally guaranteed rights-among them our rights to privacy and our civil liberties."

more from CNS News

One final note. Annie suggests that it may be time once again to help Boxer see that she's effectivley touting the same urban myth that Ellen Goodman was forced to retract:

Senator Barbara Boxer, 112 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON DC 20510, (202) 224-3553. The webform for sending her email is here.

Update: Truth and Action has more

More articles on the Supreme Court by various pro-life bloggers can be found here.

• Life Lessons from Tragically-Troubled Celebrity? - May 27, 2008
• Al Sharpton's Interesting Choice of Words - Apr 29, 2008
• YouTube Censors American Life League - Feb 12, 2008
• Wichita Abortion Mill Makeover by Operation Rescue - Dec 19, 2007
• Breaking news: New group challenges National Right to Life - Dec 04, 2007
• Pro-Life Signs Destroyed as Police Silence the 'Truth Truck' - Nov 27, 2007
• Hit-And-Run Claim Filed Against Abortionist George Tiller - Nov 09, 2007
• Pro-Life Signature Ad Approaches 2500 Signatures - Jul 19, 2007