Roe v. Wade Was Overturned By Pro-Abortion Activists
Before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, many states had laws in place that restricted abortion. When the Roe decision came out, these laws were essentially nullified. Because the United States Supreme Court held that there was a constitutional right to abortion, and because the Constitution is the highest law of the land, state courts across the country had no option but to enjoin enforcement of state laws that banned abortion.
The subsequent legal landscape altered significantly. The pro-life movement was created from the ground up and had to begin in earnest to chip away at this newly created “right.” With relentless advocacy, pro-life groups worked to assist states with pro-life legislatures to craft laws that sought to protect the pre-born in whatever ways they could. These efforts included parental consent laws, laws that required abortion providers to have medical licenses, curbing tax-payer-funded abortions, and so on. The greatest effort was directed at limiting the gestational age at which babies could legally be aborted.
But just as relentless as pro-life advocates were, so were pro-abortion activists. Every time a new law was passed, it seemed that a lawsuit was already in the pipeline, challenging even the most minor efforts to protect the pre-born from the scourge of abortion. Litigation since Roe had been unrelenting for nearly 50 years. These pro-abortion litigation forces were always well-funded and well-prepared. And then came Dobbs.
When Pro-Abortion Litigants Filed Dobbs, an Originalist Supreme Court Was Already in Place
The Mississippi law challenged in the Dobbs case restricted abortions to pre-born babies of less than 15 weeks gestational age. To put this in perspective, this is beyond the first trimester, the point at which even the Roe court acknowledged that states had an interest in placing limits on abortion.
A 15-week limit is well in line with limitations that even many pro-choice Americans are willing to accept. In the rest of the world, 15 weeks gestation is beyond the age when abortion is prohibited in most countries except for places like China and North Korea. Even in Europe, most countries outlaw abortion after 12 weeks, with the notable exceptions of France (16 weeks), the UK (24 weeks), Sweden (18 weeks), and the Netherlands (no limitation). The fact is, the 15-week limit imposed by Mississippi is more in line with the interests of pro-abortion activists. It is certainly not in line with the goals of any pro-life advocates.
But for the litigants in Dobbs, 15 weeks was not enough. No, pro-abortion advocates will not stop until they dehumanize every pre-born baby, treating them as unimportant, unworthy, inhuman, and disposable. Pro-abortion activists have historically been entirely unwilling to accept any limitations on abortion, despite public opinion on the matter, which has consistently favored some restrictions. How ironic, then, that their insatiable appetite for abortion at any time, in any way, and for any reason has brought about the demise of Roe v. Wade. Had they stayed their hand, Roe would likely still be the law of the land.
The truth is that the Dobbs case was initially filed in March of 2018. At that time, the Supreme Court’s composition already included five – a majority of the nine – of the justices who ultimately upheld Mississippi’s 15-week limitation law: Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. More than that, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 85 years old and already in questionable health, having suffered a few bouts of cancer and other health issues. President Trump was in the White House. Given that cases take a couple of years to reach the Supreme Court, it was unlikely that Justice Ginsburg would be on the court by the time Dobbs came up. And that is exactly how it played out. By the time Dobbs hit the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg had passed, and her replacement, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, had been sworn in. The result? Roe is history.
In short, the pro-abortion litigants’ zealotry in Dobbs caused them to seriously miscalculate their legal strategy. They can now only thank themselves for achieving, after nearly 50 years, the result that they had been dreading and that pro-life forces had been praying for: the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
God works in mysterious ways, indeed.
Here at ProLife Doc, we know that despite the victory in Dobbs, that is just one battle in a war that will be fought for decades and one that has to be won one heart and soul at a time. With your support, we will continue to spread our message of life, hope, and love to the country and the world. With God on our side, victory is certain. For more information about ProLife Doc’s ministry or about how medical science is one of the avenues for restoring the dignity of the pre-born, contact ProLife Doc today.
