Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
There’s a reason abortion is a divided issue and will never cease to be a controversial “medical” procedure: an innocent, voiceless, and vulnerable unborn baby, who should be protected, dies not to save the mother’s life, but for the mother’s convenience.
In 1973, seven of nine men on the country’s highest court decided that killing unborn children was a right of privacy for women. At least during the first trimester, a woman can have her own child killed for whatever reason she wants, including to avoid gaining weight. Pro-lifers push bills that ban sex- or race-based abortions, but it doesn’t matter why she kills her baby.
Over four decades later, the U.S. Supreme Court is still dealing with abortion. From the Los Angeles Times:
Since 2010, Republican-led states have passed an array of abortion-related laws. Some limit the time period during which women may obtain an abortion. Others set new restrictions for clinics, doctors or the drugs that induce early abortions.
Most of the new laws have been blocked or struck down by federal judges. And until now, the high court has refused to hear states’ appeals.
For years, the justices have steered clear of most abortion cases. A decision to turn down the latest appeals, from Mississippi and North Carolina, would be a victory for abortion rights advocates. Abortion rights groups have argued that strict regulations imposed by conservative states were designed, not to improve healthcare, but to deter and prevent pregnant women from choosing a legal abortion.
Pro-life lawmakers obviously want to reduce abortions by raising standards for clinics and extending waiting periods before these procedures. No pro-lifer should be ashamed for having these motives or deny them. Any woman who doesn’t want “it” can get rid of “it.” But if that same woman has time to reflect, perhaps she’ll change her mind and protect her child. If she sees her child on an ultrasound, maybe she’ll recognize that he has a right to live.
Photo credit: dalurton1 (Flickr Commons)
