If the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade tomorrow, what would happen? This is my second post on the topic of SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) and abortion, and I want to start with a clear, unambiguous statement of my beliefs: Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Period. So before you read this and are tempted to go tell your buddies that Ryan doesn't think Roe should be overturned, stop right there.
There's a lot of confusion on both sides about what would happen if Roe went down, in part because we don't know exactly. Contrary to popular myth, abortion would not be illegal, at least not across the entire country. Overturning Roe would allow states to decide for themselves what to do with the abortion issue, and we just aren't sure what would happen in a lot of states. Right now there are 4 states that have "automatic reverter" laws, which say, in effect "as soon as Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal in this state". 6 other states have laws that would significantly restrict abortions. A handful of others have currently unenforceable bans on abortion, but many of them are sure to take those off the books if Roe was overturned, like Massachusetts.
In all, USAToday estimates that 22 states are likely to add new restrictions of some kind to abortion if Roe is overturned. Those 22 states only represent 37% of abortions that occur annually in the US. Even if abortion was completely banned in all 22 of those states, it would of course not represent an automatic 37% reduction in abortions. Many women would just cross state lines. Others would simply obtain an illegal abortion from one of the many abortionists who would no doubt stay open for business illicitly. No one knows for sure what the actual reduction would be, but I think it's clear that it would be a drop in the bucket. And, of course, if Roe is overturned by a 5-4 margin, every new SCOTUS justice will represent a potential return to legal abortion in all 50 states.
My point in all of this is that overturning Roe, while a great moral victory, would simply not accomplish all that much in the number of babies saved category. And after all, isn't that what we are aiming for?
So why do we focus all of our pro-life angst on electing Republicans, to nominate "pro-life" justices to SCOTUS, to overturn Roe? I suspect it's because it's easy. It takes like 5 seconds once every 4 years to vote for a presidential candidate. It requires no effort whatsoever to slap a bumper sticker on your car, or even to go hold a sign on a street corner, because hey, it's only once every 4 years. Real change is tough. It's emotionally draining to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. It's a lifelong commitment to adopt a child. Sitting down and explaining to your friends at school why you are pro-life takes time and energy. Who's got time to really love and care?
I worry that overturning Roe might even raise the number of abortions if we aren't diligent. It would fire up the pro-choice base. Meanwhile, a lot of pro-lifers who incorrectly thought that Roe was the holy grail would simply move on with their lives, not realizing that the battle has just begun.
Here's what I think: if we go out and fight the good fight, love hurting women, take in unwanted children, be the salt and light we are called to be, and actually saving babies by changing peoples minds, Roe v. Wade will eventually take care of itself. But if we keep on making this just a political battle, too many thousands or millions of babies will die while we just spin our wheels.
There's a lot of confusion on both sides about what would happen if Roe went down, in part because we don't know exactly. Contrary to popular myth, abortion would not be illegal, at least not across the entire country. Overturning Roe would allow states to decide for themselves what to do with the abortion issue, and we just aren't sure what would happen in a lot of states. Right now there are 4 states that have "automatic reverter" laws, which say, in effect "as soon as Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal in this state". 6 other states have laws that would significantly restrict abortions. A handful of others have currently unenforceable bans on abortion, but many of them are sure to take those off the books if Roe was overturned, like Massachusetts.
In all, USAToday estimates that 22 states are likely to add new restrictions of some kind to abortion if Roe is overturned. Those 22 states only represent 37% of abortions that occur annually in the US. Even if abortion was completely banned in all 22 of those states, it would of course not represent an automatic 37% reduction in abortions. Many women would just cross state lines. Others would simply obtain an illegal abortion from one of the many abortionists who would no doubt stay open for business illicitly. No one knows for sure what the actual reduction would be, but I think it's clear that it would be a drop in the bucket. And, of course, if Roe is overturned by a 5-4 margin, every new SCOTUS justice will represent a potential return to legal abortion in all 50 states.
My point in all of this is that overturning Roe, while a great moral victory, would simply not accomplish all that much in the number of babies saved category. And after all, isn't that what we are aiming for?
So why do we focus all of our pro-life angst on electing Republicans, to nominate "pro-life" justices to SCOTUS, to overturn Roe? I suspect it's because it's easy. It takes like 5 seconds once every 4 years to vote for a presidential candidate. It requires no effort whatsoever to slap a bumper sticker on your car, or even to go hold a sign on a street corner, because hey, it's only once every 4 years. Real change is tough. It's emotionally draining to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. It's a lifelong commitment to adopt a child. Sitting down and explaining to your friends at school why you are pro-life takes time and energy. Who's got time to really love and care?
I worry that overturning Roe might even raise the number of abortions if we aren't diligent. It would fire up the pro-choice base. Meanwhile, a lot of pro-lifers who incorrectly thought that Roe was the holy grail would simply move on with their lives, not realizing that the battle has just begun.
Here's what I think: if we go out and fight the good fight, love hurting women, take in unwanted children, be the salt and light we are called to be, and actually saving babies by changing peoples minds, Roe v. Wade will eventually take care of itself. But if we keep on making this just a political battle, too many thousands or millions of babies will die while we just spin our wheels.
Next post in this series: the double-edged sword of Republican judges...
1 comment:
Very, very well said. Too many of us live our lives believing that we've fought the good fight if we've voted correctly and/or taken out our checkbook. The reality is that the pro life fight, like other Biblical calls on our life, must be fought from the trenches. Volunteer, take in a pregnant teen, reach out to a woman in dire circumstances, offer respite to a woman overwhelmed, foster, adopt...just like missions where we are commanded to go, I believe that we are commanded to DO when it comes to Pro Life. Talk/votes/checks are fine...but they do not take the place of going and doing. We Christians have got to stop being content w/resting on our laurels in our own little corners of the world. In fact, when it comes to being pro life, we need to think globally, just as we do when it comes to evangelism/missions. Today in China, for example, forced abortions are taking the lives of children desperately wanted by their parents, but discarded by a government that says this is one too many. Yes, talk, vote, write checks, but don't stop there! We cannot, simply cannot, stop there.......
Post a Comment