Part 1 in a 4-part series called “Protecting Life & Ending Abortion”
By Stephanie Curry, Policy Manager
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers acknowledged and declared life to be our first and greatest right. One that belongs to all. One that is inalienable, absolute, and unable to be taken away without violating the very source of our humanity. Yet, just 45 years ago, the Supreme Court delivered the seminal Roe v. Wade opinion that would contradict what many Americans have believed to be true since our founding: unborn children do not have a right to life, nor are they entitled to the full protection of the Constitution or the State from their own mothers. As you will see in our four-part series, “Protecting Life & Ending Abortion,” Roe v. Wade has become a disastrous example of why it is not the place of courts to decide issues of morality, set national policy, or invent constitutional rights to fit a political agenda.
In 1973, seven justices declared the right to privacy somehow included a mother’s right to have an abortion. The mother’s “right” doesn’t have to be balanced against the life of the child nor the interests of the father, and the Court restricted state interference based upon the unprecedented concept of trimesters. While Roe v. Wade alone was an astonishing departure from the Constitution and the moral perspective of the American people, the Court still couldn’t possibly have anticipated the waves of moral and political debate that would flood the courts and legislatures for decades afterwards.
For over 40 years the pro-life movement has evolved, becoming strategic in standing for the truth that all life is precious. Our people have come to understand elections matter at the local and state levels, and we all win when we place legislators in office who are not afraid to voice the truth that life is God-given, and therefore priceless and worth saving across all political parties, cultures, classes, and ages. Our elected legislators, not the courts, have been the ones on the frontlines, passing laws protecting pregnant mothers from coercion, deception, and unconscionable medical practices that became the results of Roe. Our legislators have protected pregnant minors, pregnant victims of crimes, and helped fund pregnancy centers that offer life-giving solutions to women in difficult circumstances. We will discuss the magnitude of what our movement has accomplished over the past 40 years in this four-part series and why we need the support of voices like yours now more than ever.
Family Policy Alliance, in partnership with you and your families, will continue to advance pro-life bills, support the election of pro-life candidates, and educate future leaders on the biblical truth that life is an inalienable right that belongs to all.
READ PART 2 – The Supreme Court Doesn’t Get the Final Say
READ PART 3 – Roe v. Wade Wasn’t the End…But So What?
READ PART 4 – After 45 Years, It’s Time to End Roe v. Wade!
