“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings,” J.R.R. Tolkien.
After nearly 50 years, Roe has fallen. The dragon is slain.
The decision overturns the 1973 ruling of seven men who eradicated every law in America that prevented or restricted the destruction of preborn children.
Now states can decide whether and how to limit abortion. Sixteen states have already taken up the mantle of protection for the unborn.
Mississippi’s case, the one SCOTUS ruled on, limits abortion after 15 weeks–more than a third of the way through pregnancy.
Oklahoma passed a law protecting the unborn from fertilization (with exceptions, reported rape or assault, medical emergency, Plan B). Texas’s law restricts abortion after six weeks and provides no exceptions for rape or incest. (See here also)
Arkansas’s law is also quite restrictive, allowing abortion only when the mother’s life is endangered. Aside from cases like a tubal pregnancy in which the non-viable child’s death is assured, ending a pregnancy prematurely because of a mother’s health issue does not require the death of a viable child. That’s an idea pro-abortion advocates have ignored since before Roe. There’s a big difference between seeking the outcome of a dead child and ending a pregnancy early to care for both mother and child.
In anticipation of today, eight states promised legal access to abortion until birth as per Roe. At least New York expanded abortion access so as not to require a licensed physician to perform the procedure.
Efforts to pass expansive abortion laws on a nationwide basis have failed.
That’s where things stand today. What comes next?
For the other side, the battle has risen to a new level where there can be no limitations–and not just inside abortion facilities.
A prime example is the firebombing of crisis pregnancy centers recently.
These incidents rightly remind us of abortion clinic bombings in the late ’70s through the ’80s and into the ’90s. Media outlets widely publicized the bombings and arson of abortion facilities. Pro-life advocates decried the violence.
This time, the media have largely ignored attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers.
Further, legislative leaders (see here and here) have ignored or have gone so far as to support illegal protests outside the homes of SCOTUS Justices. The White House encouraged such demonstrations supporting a clear violation of the law prohibiting citizens from attempting to intimidate the judiciary to achieve a desired decision.
Not prosecuting illegal protesters may have contributed to a more serious form of protest also muted in the media.
The New York Times buried the attempt to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh on page 20.
Did the media tell themselves that one “crazy” person showing up with a knife, gun and other paraphernalia didn’t deserve a prominent headline. We must ask whether there is only one or a crowd of people willing to allow (or perpetrate) assassination for the sake of a political end?
It’s a crowd, and it’s larger than we would have imagined. Forty-four percent of young Democrat males as well as 34 percent of their Republican counterparts affirm “assassinating a politician who is harming the country or our democracy” as a moral good.
The Culture War is getting hotter, more warlike.
With Roe gone, a great deal hangs in the balance.
On the side of life, there are the children, parents, and other family members who become walking wounded after the trauma of abortion.
On the other side, Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion entity recorded its fifth-highest profits in 2017 at $98.5 million. Profits for 2020 were a mere $69.7 million. The University of Pittsburgh garnered millions in federal tax dollars for its companion industry of fetal experimentation.
The entities who make money from the deaths of children won’t give up easily.
Radicals willing to bomb and threaten those who oppose them won’t either.
Those of us on the side of life must continue to advocate peacefully for the innocent. Aside from the Dobbs decision, we have made progress.
As with many other issues, Americans are very divided over abortion although 70 percent of us favor some limitations, and growing numbers now call themselves pro-life.
We see courage in those willing to stand their ground in crisis pregnancy ministries–especially in states where the balance is tipped in abortion’s favor.
A decision has come down. But the argument is not over. Today is a day to proclaim repentance for our nation’s sins.
It’s a day to celebrate.
It’s a day to commit to courage come what may.
“Courage comes from the deepest recesses of our soul, where belief, hope, conviction, and grounded optimism, tempered by life experience, reside. It is seldom needed; when courage is called for, we either have it or not. those who know how to rally, in heart and deed, carry the day. Those who fold to fear slide away,” Robert B. Charles.
Let us not slide away.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9~
