Even though the U.S. Supreme Court could soon overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, pro-life advocates say it’s no time to take the foot off the gas.
Ahead of last Friday’s March for Life, Kristen Waggoner, general counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, told Faithwire there is “tremendous momentum” for the pro-life movement in the coming year, telling us the country is “positioned to fully and finally have Roe reversed.”
“So many Americans have marched, they’ve prayed, and they’ve worked for this day to come,” she said. “We hope the U.S. Supreme Court has the courage to do what’s right.”
Waggoner’s lofty forecast comes against the backdrop of a predominantly conservative high court whose justices are on the cusp of issuing a ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case over a Mississippi state law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Should a majority of the justices decide to uphold the bill, it would essentially undo the precedent set in 1973, when the court granted nationwide legal cover to abortion in its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision on Dobbs this June.
Should a majority of the justices on the bench agree to uphold the Mississippi legislation, abortion would move from being a federal issue to a state contention. That is why states like New Jersey, for example, have enacted legislation to codify the Roe decision into law.
Waggoner said Americans must understand that, in 1973, the high court essentially established law by creating “a constitutional right to abortion,” a right she said is “not anywhere in the Constitution, it’s not in American law, or our nation’s history.”
“If the Supreme Court reverses that ruling, as it ought, then citizens will then have a voice and you’ll see a very robust discussion occur in every state about what limits should be on abortion and that [there] even could be full limits on abortion in many of our states,” the ADF attorney told Faithwire, noting it’s “more important than ever” that Americans educate themselves on and speak out against abortion.
In late November of last year, 375 women signed an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court, telling the justices of the harm they endured as a result of second-and third-trimester abortions. In addition to enduring physical injuries, the women in the filing detailed the “deep emotional and psychological suffering” they endured, urging the court to uphold the Mississippi law and to overturn the Roe precedent.
“There are implications for women that are physical, mental, [and] emotional,” Waggoner said of abortion. “There are also spiritual implications. So it’s always dangerous.”
The pro-life lawyer went on to say those who oppose abortion “have a role to play in empowering women to choose life and to protect the unborn” because “a woman shouldn’t be pitted against her unborn [child].”
As for how everyday citizens can make a difference in their lives, Waggoner said it’s important to “talk about it because people think they’re alone in their opinions when they question [abortion] and we’re forced with this cancel culture [to] think we should be silent.”
“We need to talk about it — talk about the implications of abortion, talk that women can be successful and still be mothers,” she added. “We shouldn’t be forced [to make] that choice.”
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