When the decision was reached, it turned our country quite upside down and polarized. Interesting, historians and others who bring Roe to the forefront in political discussions and discourse, and of course at election time, fail to also mention that at the time Roe was decided, the Pill and other rather reliable methods of birth control were becoming more and more available. Planned Parenthood had just opened it's doors to "free birth control" during this "free love" era, and AIDS was nothing more than someone's assistant. At the time it was decided, there were many states which did allow early abortions, since this also was the time when the "globalists" had started their scares about overpopulation, and the destruction of our planet. It is now, of course, being resurrected by many of those former hippies, and capitalists types as the new scheme in which to become a millionaire before 35. Seems out in California there is now a blend of "hippie capitalists." They don't mind being that dirty word "capitalists" so long as they are making their fortunes along environmentally friendly lines, and saving the planet from overpopulation is one of them. Many of these left wing pro-choice activists believe in unrestricted access to abortion, such as third trimester partial birth abortions, including from all accounts the Democratic nominee. The defense has been with respect to that Illinois bill a fear that in supporting the partial birth ban it might overturn Roe v. Wade, and was worded incorrectly. Well, my understanding is that was what the Committees in the state legislatures were for, writing and reviewing laws for Constitutionality prior to bringing them to the floor, and Roe actually only addressed and upheld the right to first term abortions since those were already allowed in most of the states, for rape, health of the mother, and had been expanded for teen pregnancies so long as there was parental consent. Hey, it's for the good of the planet.....
For all the scare tactics the libs like to throw out every election about the "threat" of Roe being overturned if a, horror of horrors, conservative should get into office and further stack the Supreme Court, I have just one thing to say.......don't you think it's about time that decision was reviewed, and in the 21st Century now. At this point throughout the country, we now have even the "Morning After" pill, for heaven sakes. Birth control pills now in many areas of the country can be obtained by even teens without their parent's consent, and due to the AIDS and other STDs epidemic, the use of contraceptives between committed or uncommitted couples have never been higher. Isn't it about time we pulled the plug, at least, on second and third trimester abortions nationwide, except in the event of health risk to the mother or child in continuing the pregnancy? Just what are you liberals afraid of, that in so doing we will go back to the dark ages, where abortions were performed in dark alleys with unsterilized equipment, when now there is even a pill that can abort during the first trimester?
I am a Christian, and I believe abortion should be restricted to the first trimester at this point in our history, and not simply for moral reasons but legal ones. This was never a "right to privacy" issue to begin with, it was always a "right to life" issue, since if the founder's were not concerned with "life" they certainly wouldn't have based an entire document in order to secure "life, liberty and happiness" for "us and our posterity" if they were unconcerned with just what the "Creator" would think. And it's pretty clear there is 10 Commandment law behind that Constitution, whether the atheists in this country wish to believe it or not. Religious tolerance is actually a Christian doctrine, it is not a Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist doctrine, and the freedom of religion provision was also provided in order to prevent a NATION-WIDE or "State" religion, such as they had experienced in England with the decades long fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants. Read Ben Franklin's speech when the Constitution was ratified, and he specifically alludes to the problems they were attempting to avoid by recognizing each individuals right to worship God according to their own understanding, and in their own way, without "nationalizing" a state religion such as in Britain and the Church of England, and in more recent history, Israel. It does seem the founder's new what they were doing, since even today those countries with "national" religions do seem to be engaged in much more strife, both internal and external, than others.
The problem that I do have with the far, far right wing evangelical Christians is their rather rigid interpretation of when life begins, since Jesus never truly addressed it. Most pastors and members of the evangelical churches relate to the biblical passage of God "knowing you in your mother's womb." The problem I have with that is that adultery was a criminal matter in Jesus's time, and the punishment under the 10 Commandment law at the time was death by stoning. If life truly begins at conception rather than viability, than God allowed innocent fetuses to be killed along with their mothers since I'm sure a great many of those adulteress might have been pregnant. It is also biblically fairly clear that the first life God created, Adam, he did so by "breathing" life into dust, and that in then creating Eve, he clearly then gave them, not he, the gift of procreation and then by directing them to "go forth and multiply." And it's also pretty darn clear that he intended children to be raised in two sex households, since he didn't give us the ability to recreate independently of the other sex.
What is truly amazing to me is that for all the bravado of the "pro-choice" movement and those mostly liberals who even today with medical knowledge and technology the way it is, still cling to this decision as a benchmark of a candidates worthiness. It is interesting that while the radical liberal element protest over global warming and how it is affecting the whales, polar bears, and other Arctic creatures, they were nowhere to be seen when Teri Schiavo was judicially literally starved and dehydrated to death for almost 14 days while she clung to life, breathing on her own. The most painful type of death any human can experience ending in progressive organ shutdown, and a judge in this country so ordered it. Better watch out, liberals, since your definition of "pro-choice" and radicalism sounds more like Germany, circa World War II.
Published by Betsy Ross
Former legal professional and long time resident of the State of Arizona. Have written numerous articles for publication with respect to private property rights, immigration and Constitutional issues. View profile
- Religion Requires One to Think Outside the BoxThis article examines the traditional arguments that attempt to derail the religious institutions subsisting today and argue them by portraying the truth about religion being a form of faith not a science experiment.
- Do I Have to Check My Religion at the Door of Knowledge?Art and philosophy, in both their origin and their practice, serve as the tools of religion.
- Critical Thinking Could Only Help ReligionAn attempt to explore some of the underlying reason for the unpopularity of religion in the West.
- Roe V. Wade in Today's America: The Debate ContinuesThe debate over abortion didn't necessarily end in the 1970's with Roe v. Wade. In fact, recent constitutional challenges have recently stirred renewed debate over the subject in the minds of American citizens everywh...
- Roe V. Wade and the Court that Made the DecisionLearn all of the basics in the case of Roe v. Wade which decided that abortion was legal in the United States of America. Includes simple biographies of each member of the Court who made the decision. Bibliography inc...
- No Sympathy: Abortion
- The Nature and Purpose of Religion
- Politics in Late Nineteenth Century America
- Organized Religion: The Fall of Intelligence
- A Reverend's Take on the Science vs Religion Debate
- Religion and Social Life
- Science & Religion Coexist




6 Comments
Post a CommentI'm neither left or right. I'm a believer in the middle - the Constitution as written.
dear betsy, this article is where I learned you were a christian I was only trying to accept someone whose belief I couldn't understand with the hope God would prevail. I certainly coudn't tag you left or right at this point. I wish you grace. good-bye.
EXCELLENT piece on the subject. Thank you for covering it.
Thank you for this even-handed article on such a touchy subject. I also believe that abortions are sometimes necessary (as in the cases of rape and immediate life endangerment of the mother). But with the fringes on the left and right, there is no compromise. It's either all or nothing as far as their concerned, and that's just plain ludicrous!
Snidely,
Love the handle, and assume you are a libertarian biker? Actually, am more of a Constitutionalist than what you refer to as a Jingoist America Lover from Conservativeland......whatever that is. Really, all the gutless Congress has to do to overturn Roe is to define, for Constitutional purposes, when life begins and when it ends. And no, with all the flack the Court took with the decision, if you are old enough to remember, they are now just as political as the other two branches, and abortion has become big business, and it aligns with the U.N.'s agenda in their resolutions with respect to population control. And the neocons claim to be "right to lifers" but when push comes to shove, would rather import foreigners to this country, than actually protect our soverign nationalism.
Betsy, how dare you suggest there should be a review of Roe v. Wade. As you know by now, since that decision went their way it is not subject to review. This is like the NFL Betsy - when one doesn't like the call they ask for a review and the other team that benefited from the call hates to see a review coming. As such, since the Far Left Loonies from Liberaland won the earlier decision, they are dead set against seeing the ref go under the hood for the replay(an NFL reference if you're not familiar). Now your team, the Jingoist America Lovers from Conservativeland want the play reviewed. Good luck, but i don't see it happening.