It’s been three decades of reproductive freedom for American women. Three decades during which they have enjoyed the right to make their own childbearing decisions. Three decades during which they have had access to safe, legal abortion services. But you wouldn’t guess this from the anti-choice ideology that prevails on Capitol Hill these days.

As Massachusetts pro-choice advocates celebrate the 30th anniversary of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion — hosting a January 22 event at St. Paul’s Cathedral, in Boston — they’re taking stock of the current unparalleled threat to abortion rights. The Roe anniversary comes at a time when anti-choice Republicans control not only the White House, but also both houses of Congress. Since George W. Bush became president in 2001, Democrats in the Senate have served as a critical check on abortion opponents eager to chip away at women’s access to reproductive services. But under the new leadership of Republican senator Bill Frist, of Tennessee, anti-choice senators have already identified abortion-related bills that they hope to deliver to Bush’s desk this session. Among them is a ban of the so-called partial-birth-abortion procedure; a measure that would give legal status to a fetus hurt or killed during a federal crime; a bill that would make it illegal for an adult to take a minor for an out-of-state abortion; and, finally, a measure that would ban government sanctions against health-care workers who refuse to participate in abortions.

" Three decades after Roe, this is a wake-up call, " says Melissa Kogut, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL). Aside from the legislative attacks, she points out, Bush may have the opportunity to appoint a staunchly anti-Roe justice to the Supreme Court — a move that would cater to his religious-conservative base. " We are concerned that the public doesn’t know that these threats are severe. "

Given the federal political climate, Kogut and her colleagues aim to shore up support for abortion rights here at home. But even in a supposedly liberal state like Massachusetts, the status of abortion rights seems mixed. While a pro-choice majority dominates in the state Senate, the House remains closely divided. Its powerful leader, House Speaker Tom Finneran, is an anti-abortion stalwart. Just last Sunday, in a speech at a Massachusetts Citizens for Life rally at Faneuil Hall, Finneran boasted about how he helped block a state constitutional change that would have guaranteed the same abortion protections for Bay Staters as the Roe decision. Governor Mitt Romney, meanwhile, has stated that he supports abortion rights, but he’s still what advocates call " untested. " Which is to say that pro-choice advocates here cannot take anything for granted.

As Kogut puts it, " With the presidency, Congress, and parts of state government firmly in anti-choice hands, we must remain vigilant and committed to Roe. "