On this day in 1973, the Supreme court ruled, 7-2, in favor of the case Roe V Wade, granting women the ‘legal right’ to have an abortion. This highly controversial case centered around a woman named Norma McCorvey, aka Roe. McCorvey was living in Texas when she married at the young age of sixteen. Tragically that relationship was mired with physical and mental abuse. It ended in a divorce and a young child that she was unable to care for due to her drug and alcohol addiction. She signed adoption papers to give her child to her mother and would shortly thereafter got pregnant again and sign that child over for adoption. A short period of time later she would become pregnant for the third time. Her friends encouraged her to seek an abortion but it was illegal in the state of Texas to have an abortion at the time unless it was to save the woman’s life. McCorvey stated falsely that she was raped and sought out an abortion clinic but it was closed by the local police. She then sought legal counsel from Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were purposefully seeking pregnant women who wanted an abortion so they could challenge the law in Texas. The trial took place in Dallas County against the District Attorney, Henry Wade, thus Roe V. Wade. The legal battle raged for three years until it reached the Supreme Court. By that time Norma had already given birth to her third child whom she put up for adoption. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe because of their interpretation of the fourteenth amendment, in which section one states “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The high court claimed that a ban against abortion limited a woman’s right to privacy. The original court decision was supposed to be a balance between a woman’s rights and prenatal life. The vote carried 7-2. The only two that dissented were Byron White and William Rehnquist. Surprisingly to most people, the court was 6-3 in favor of conservatives, five of the six republican presidential-appointed judges voted for Roe V. Wade.
Nearly fifty years
have passed since that decision, leaving over 62 million babies aborted. Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, turning the issue of abortion back to the states. Abortion is just a new term for infanticide. Ancient pagan Canaanite religions would often sacrifice babies for
their gods. What does the Bible say about this practice? Is the Bible mute on this
subject? Though the Bible does not use the term abortion it does speak about
murder. Exodus 20:13 tells us "thou shalt not murder." Murder is
simply the intentional taking of life from another person. The question then
becomes when does human life start? Conception or birth? The Bible also speaks
about this. God told the prophet Jeremiah that He knew him in his mother's
womb. Meaning that prior to birth Jeremiah was, in the eyes of God, alive. Or
you could look at the Psalms and find that we are fearfully and wonderfully
made, pointing again to life at conception. The Bible obviously speaks about
murder and without hesitation speaks about life being formed in the womb.
Abortion and murder are different terms for the same thing. How do we as
Christians respond to abortion? Proverbs 31:9 tells us to "open your
mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." It is
our duty to be advocates for life. Have you advocated for life? Loving single
moms? Supporting your locally operated Christian pregnancy center? Giving a
voice to the voiceless? Be a lifelong advocate for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment