Editor’s Note: These remarks were delivered at a Capitol Hill press conference marking this week’s first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
For decades, those who facilitate abortions have employed a range of strategies to avoid acknowledging, trivialising, and concealing the victim of the procedure, who is often a child who has been subjected to abuse.
They have actively promoted a culture of denial, disrespect, and bias against babies.
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court delivered a landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s constitutional right to terminate pregnancy. The Court’s 7-2 majority opinion, authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, is notable for its sweeping language, stating that: The Court did not attempt to resolve the difficult question of when human life begins. (Page 159)
The Court sidestepped the fundamental question of the intrinsic value, dignity, and humanity of the unborn child and proceeded to legalize and facilitate abortion on demand throughout pregnancy.
In 1973, Justice Byron White, joined by Justice Rehnquist, dissented on both extremist pro-abortion decisions. In his dissenting opinion, Justice White characterised the Court’s decision in Doe v. Bolton, the companion decision to Roe, as an “exercise of raw judicial power” and an “improvident and extravagant exercise of the power of judicial review”.
In 2022, the majority opinion of the Alito court was in agreement.
One year ago, Justice Alito, writing for the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, overturned Roe and Casey and returned the authority to regulate or prohibit abortion to lawmakers at all levels—local, state, and federal.
In a recent opinion piece, Justice Alito asserted that the Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey must be overturned. It is now appropriate to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.
As elucidated in the aforementioned opinion, the historical understanding of ordered liberty in this nation does not preclude the people’s elected representatives from determining the manner in which abortion should be regulated.
The necessity to safeguard the lives of innocent children from extermination has become increasingly urgent.
According to the National Right to Life Committee, approximately 64.5 million babies have been killed by abortion in the United States since 1973. This equates to a loss of children’s lives that is comparable to the entire population of Italy.
In the post-Dobbs era, fourteen states have enacted legislation that effectively prohibits abortions at six weeks, while others have enacted laws that prohibit abortions at 12, 15, 18, and 20 weeks.
A further eight states have been denied the protections they sought by the lower courts.
It is a matter of great concern that some states, including New Jersey, have enacted legislation that permits abortion up to the moment of birth for any reason. This legislation, which is in direct contravention of the fundamental right to life, permits the termination of a pregnancy at any stage, including the point of birth.
The Democrat-led House of Representatives twice passed H.R. 3755, which sought to legalise abortion until birth.
The implementation of pro-abortion policies represents a significant threat to the well-being and lives of innocent children.
It is evident that abortion is neither humane, compassionate nor benign. Abortion is not healthcare, unless one considers the unborn child to be analogous to a tumour or disease that can be excised or vanquished.
The 1973 Supreme Court anti-child decisions and several that followed, including Casey, have enabled the violent death of unborn babies, including girls and boys, by dismemberment, decapitation, forced expulsion from the womb, the use of deadly poisons, and other violent methods at any time and for any reason until birth.
However, historical and scientific evidence supports the view that life is a fundamental aspect of the universe.
In the present era, the use of ultrasound technology has enabled the visualization of unborn fetuses to a degree that was previously unattainable.
When a woman is carrying a child, the first images she displays with pride are ultrasound photographs of the unborn child. These images often appear on the refrigerator door.
The scientific community has now reached a consensus that the birth of a child is an event, albeit a significant one, but one that occurs only during the life of the child. It is not the beginning of life.
The unborn child is the youngest patient in society and is entitled to benign, life-affirming medical interventions. In the context of modern medicine, unborn children with disabilities or diseases are regarded as patients in need of diagnosis and treatment.
It is this author’s contention that all unborn babies deserve protection, not death by abortion. It is imperative that unborn babies and their mothers receive support. It is crucial that we demonstrate love and assistance to both parties.
There has been a significant increase in the number of interventions that have saved children’s lives and mitigated many of the problems that they may face when the disability in question was not identified and addressed in a timely manner.
In the current climate, it is imperative that women and men of conscience take action to safeguard the most vulnerable members of society.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
