On June 24, 2022, a few minutes past 10:00 AM, Eastern time, the seemingly impossible happened. At last, the Supreme Court overturned it’s 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the final opinion, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision. Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts.”
Joining Alito were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. The latter three justices are Trump appointees. Chief Justice John Roberts would have stopped short of ending the abortion right. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan — the diminished liberal wing of the court — were in dissent.
There already has been much hand-wringing and posturing on the left because of this ruling. President Biden (who once said, “I do not view abortion as a choice or a right. I think it’s always a tragedy,”) stated after the decision, “ It was a sad day for the court and the country. The health and life of women in this nation are now at risk.” Former first lady Michelle Obama said she is “heartbroken” by the decision. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Friday one of America’s “darkest days.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed, “This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching.” Most of the Hollywood elites came out strongly against the decision including singer and actress Barbra Streisand who ranted, “ This Court is the American Taliban.”
But despite the whining and the doomsday rhetoric by distraught pro-choice advocates, their hysterical friends in the media and desperate Democrats who want to make this an issue in the midterms, our country is still a long way from ending abortions.
Understandably, many Americans are wondering what it all means. The short answer is this: The battle over abortion will now be fought on a state-by-state basis. States are now free to decide whether to allow any restrictions or expansion of abortion.
It is estimated that existing state laws would only close approximately 202 clinics or 26% of all publicly advertised abortion facilities in the country. And a number of liberal states like California and New York are already advertising themselves as abortion hot spots for women who want to travel there from non-abortion states.
According to the study, among all U.S. states, California has the most abortion facilities, with 168 open facilities as of 2021, followed by New York (89) and those numbers will probably increase. California alone had more abortion facilities than the 34 states with the fewest number of them combined and nearly as many clinics as could be found in the entire South.
Meanwhile, certain woke companies like The Walt Disney Company, Amazon, Citigroup, Meta (Facebook), and Goldman Sachs have announced they will cover travel expenses for employees who want to travel to abortion friendly states to get abortions.
Another factor in this matter is the availability of abortion pills. It is estimated that nearly 60% of abortions are now done by this method. Because of quarantines during Covid many women were able to order these pills online and have them delivered to their home. Time will tell how this will be regulated.
To be sure, this is just the beginning of a new battle to be fought for the unborn, state by state, life by life, heart by heart. But this is also a massive, unprecedented victory for pro-lifers, one that, for many years, seemed completely out of reach.
In a statement, Franklin Graham, president, and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said: “The United States Supreme Court just announced one of the most significant rulings in my lifetime. Roe v. Wade, passed 49 years ago, has resulted in the deaths of over 63 million innocent children in this country. Sadly, this decision is not an end to abortion—it pushes the battle back to the states. My prayer is that every state will enact protections for children in the womb and that our nation will value life and recognize the rights of our most vulnerable.”
Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia stated, “Pro-Life advocates have worked for a generation to protect life, and we are thrilled that the Supreme Court finally recognized the horrific legal precedent of Roe and ruled in the favor of protecting life. Today, we pause to celebrate the right to life of babies around the nation being protected, but tomorrow the work begins in Virginia to protect life throughout the Commonwealth.”
Pastor Jentezen Franklin released a statement: “This is a remarkable answer to the prayers of millions of people for decades. I honestly never dreamed in my lifetime I would see this happen. We do not gloat or dare say anything but praise to our God for this courageous and just decision by the Supreme Court. Now we must support, love and demonstrate Gods grace and goodness to would-be mothers and the precious children this decision has rescued.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national grassroots pro-life activist group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the decision a “historic human rights victory for unborn children and their mothers and a bright pro-life future for our nation.”
Dr. James Dobson, founder and president of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute noted in a statement that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Praise God! Roe is dead, and, as a result, millions of innocent babies will have a chance to live and be welcomed into the world and protected by the promises of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. All of us who fought so hard to save innocent babies and to end the exploitation of women by the abortion industry has cause to celebrate and to thank God. This is a tremendous day for our country.
As the end of Roe is not the end of abortions in America, it also is not the end of unplanned pregnancies. Thankfully, in almost every community, there are pregnancy resource centers staffed by amazingly sacrificial people who offer compassion and hope to young women. We not only need to double down in our commitment to this kind of work, but we’ll need to think creatively about other ways our churches and communities can meet the tidal wave of human need coming our way. It is our responsibility as Christians to pledge our full support to aide in the process of saving babies but to also show the love of Christ to those who are in a panic because of this decision.
In addition, w need to pray for the safety of the Justices who voted to end Roe, their families, pregnancy centers and churches across the country that have already come under attack for their pro-life beliefs and will surely face more attacks in the days to come.