I have said for years that I didn’t expect the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that “legalized” abortion to be overturned in my lifetime, but that is exactly what happened Friday in a 6-3 decision handed down from our nation’s highest court.
Contrary to fanatical leftists’ claims about the ruling, it did not make abortion “illegal” nationwide. What it did was to put the issue back to the states. While some red states had “trigger laws” in place which banned abortion immediately after the ruling except in specific instances where the health of the mother is involved, blue states are already banding together to radically expand access to abortion on demand and for any reason.
Though Roe v. Wade getting struck down was a major victory for pro-lifers, their work is by no means done.
As noted above, the issue now goes back to the states, and that’s where the work to save unborn lives will continue for the foreseeable future.
Pro-life groups and crisis pregnancy centers will still need volunteers, including those willing to counsel women and those willing to testify before state legislative committees in purple and blue states about what abortion actually is and does and how much more often it is used for purposes of convenience rather than in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the mother/baby. It’s not a comfortable debate to have, but it’s one that is vitally necessary in order to gain ground in hostile territory.
Beyond that, rank-and-file pro-lifers have to be willing to continue to broach this issue with family and friends when and if the situation arises where there is an opening given to talk about it (let’s face it, pretty much everyone has at least one leftist in their family/friend circle who is not shy about bringing up hot button topics) because ultimately this is a hearts-and-minds battle.
The more voters you can win over to your side by using compassionate but to-the-point arguments, the more likelihood it will be legislators in the battleground and pro-choice states will have no option but to revisit the issue.
Oftentimes when I bring up the hearts-and-minds battle with a fellow conservative, I get responses along the lines of “you can’t change their minds on this. It’s like talking to a brick wall.”
While that’s true in many instances, it’s still a good idea to plant that seed in the “brick wall” because over time that seed could grow to the point the person finally sees the light.
I know, because I used to be that brick wall when it came to abortion “rights.” For years, there wasn’t anything anyone could say to me to make me change my mind. But over time and thanks to people who weren’t willing to give up on me ― and also because I further educated myself on the subject beyond what the media typically reported, I had a change of heart.
And once it happened, it was the best feeling, though in the aftermath there has been a lot of guilt for some of the excuses I used to give for why women should have the option to abort their unborn babies on demand and for any reason.
“What if they’re not wanted? What if they only have one parent?” were some of those excuses. Thankfully there are millions of people alive today and living productive lives who were either born to only one parent or who were given up for adoption.
Unfortunately, an estimated 63 million unborn children lost their lives to abortion since the 1973 Supreme Court decision. We as a country simply must do better on this issue going forward. The Supreme Court’s Friday decision was a very good start, but we’ve still got a long way to go.
Media analyst Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
