Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
The Supreme Court’s expected decision on a case that could overturn Roe vs. Wade has made a lot of headlines in the last few weeks. The case at bar involves a state law preventing abortions after 15 weeks except in a few rare cases involving the health of the mother or severe fetal abnormality. If the Supreme Court rules that states have the legitimate right to make laws regulating abortion, then Roe vs. Wade will have to go. There are a lot of misconceptions about Roe, so hopefully this article will clarify some of the issues for you:
It is a principal of Natural Law that life is precious. No one can ever be granted a “right” to kill someone. There are certain circumstances where it is permissible, but it is never a right. Even 007 needs a license.
Your rights may be granted by God, but they cease where another person’s rights and liberties begin. In the case of an abortion, the mother does not have a right to terminate a pregnancy, since the unborn child also has a right to life.
The modern abortion movement was born out of the Eugenics Movement of the late 19th Century. Eugenicists called for a “purification” of human genetics through forced sterilization, segregation, birth control, and abortion. These same policies would eventually culminate in the brutal genocides of the 20th Century.
Early supporters of the “right to abortion” were not mothers, but rather men who were tired of supporting illegitimate children.
Roe vs. Wade came up with a “right to privacy,” claiming that it was implicit in the 14th Amendment. This had the effect of rendering null all the state laws that governed abortion access. In other words, states no longer had the ability to regulate this “medical procedure” since the courts had rendered all such laws unconstitutional.
Roe vs. Wade did not make an argument about the presence of life in the womb or if abortion itself was right. It was enough to state that a right to privacy existed and therefore no further discussion could be had. There have been more than 63 million abortions since Roe. 62% of these are from minority populations. This
is a national tragedy, representing an attack on the most vulnerable.
If Roe is overturned, then it will fall to the states to regulate abortion, as they did before.
If abortion is less accessible, it may spell the end for “hookup culture,” serial monogamy, and cohabitation. In this new world, sex may have to wait for marriage and people will have to take responsibility for their actions.
Pray for an end to abortion and a better respect for life in our world. —Fr. Paul
The Ostende Blog - Fr Christopher Young 