7 Reasons Roe v. Wade Should Be Overturned

Bruce Ashford / May 04, 2022

^{In a stunning, unprecedented development this week, someone leaked a Supreme Court document suggesting that the justices soon will overturn the court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion across the nation. The document—an}^{initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito}^{—was obtained and published by Politico.}

^{The draft opinion is an unflinching repudiation of the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe, in which seven black-gowned justices usurped Congress’ legislative prerogative by inserting into the Constitution a “right to privacy” that allows lethal violence to be used against unborn human beings.}

^{Immediately, commentators noted that the leaked Alito draft was another attempt at usurpation—this time an attempt by elite leftist activists to usurp the judiciary process. As if on cue, President Joe Biden soon stated that a Supreme Court reversal of Roe would be “}^{really quite a radical decision}^{,” warning that “if sustained, a whole range of rights are in question.”}

^{President Barack Obama’s solicitor general,}^{Neal Katya, revealed}^{that the opinion made him want to cry. Other}^{liberal commentators called}^{for a “revolutionary” response if the court indeed overturns Roe v. Wade.}

^{Yet a reversal of Roe is “radical” only in the sense that it would be a return to civilizational norms for human dignity. The Roe decision was “radical’ and “revolutionary” in the sense that it subverted the entire Western human rights tradition.}

^{Because of Roe, the gains of the civil rights movement were undone in an instant. A few Ivy League lawyers decided that an entire class of human beings—unborn beings—would be denied justice and equality. Those unborn beings now have far fewer rights than many species of birds, and the body count of Roe-enabled deaths far surpasses the total deaths caused by World War II.
How has Roe harmed American society? Here are seven ways:}

Abortion kills the baby. Dying in violent and agonizing manners, somewhere between 1 million and 2 million innocent baby humans are killed each year. The baby’s experience of pain is widely agreed upon, which is one reason why pro-abortionists resort to socially neutral euphemisms such as “products of conception” and “termination of pregnancy.” As noted by the authors of “The America We Seek: A Statement of Pro-Life Principle and Concern”: “The unborn child in America today enjoys less legal protection than an endangered species of bird in a national forest.”
^{Abortion abuses women.}^{Our country’s legalization of abortion damages women by communicating to them that it is morally and legally acceptable to take the life of their baby. This legalization has catalyzed male irresponsibility and predatory sexual behavior, which, in turn, destabilizes romantic relationships and marriages.}
^{Abortion hurts men.}^{Abortion on demand means that many fathers must watch their children killed against their will. Some months, years, or even decades later, fathers find out that the child they would’ve wanted to nurture was killed without their input or consent.}
^{Abortion harms marriages and families.}^{Abortion hurts families in numerous ways, among which are destruction of a baby, fueling of male irresponsibility, marginalization of fatherhood, and the implicit message that members of a family may use lethal force to solve their problems.}
^{Abortion undermines justice and equality.}^{Abortion should not be a matter of “choice” any more than other situations that involve taking the life of an innocent person. When we allow our citizens to take the life of innocent persons, we undermine our nation’s claim to being a law-governed democracy. No longer does our nation really believe that we are all created equal; no longer do we seek justice for all.}
^{Abortion undermines our nation’s system of checks and balances.}^{In Roe v. Wade and subsequent decisions, a Supreme Court majority bypassed democratic debate and legislation by fabricating a constitutional right to abortion.}
^{Abortion minimizes society’s mediating institutions.}^{Abortion on demand assumes that an individual (the mother) has the right to take a life without the consent of the baby’s father or siblings. This sort of individual autonomy pushes America even further toward a cultural environment where the only actors of consequence are the ever-expanding state and the solitary individual.}

^{In summary, the legalization of abortion has harmed society at large.}

^{Abortion on demand, created by Roe, has hurt babies, women, men, families, democratic norms, and cultural institutions. It has eroded the moral foundations of our civic community and numbed our collective consciences by normalizing lethal violence against innocent humans.}

^{Instead of reinforcing our intuitive desire to protect those persons among us who are weakest and most vulnerable, the Roe ruling demands that we adjust our consciences to the termination of those persons.}

^{For this reason, Harvard law professor}^{Mary Ann Glendon wrote}^{that Roe caused “something like an environmental disaster, and that we are faced with a very complicated clean-up operation.”}

^{Therefore, if the Supreme Court indeed overturns Roe v. Wade, we can be grateful that our nation finally has gotten started on a very complicated clean-up operation.}

^{And we can work to find better, healthier solutions for women who are experiencing unwanted pregnancies—women who carry unborn beings in their wombs.}

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