We are used to hearing from abortion advocates about the necessity of Roe v. Wade, as it gives them an enormous advantage on an uneven playing field, created by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1973 decision, along with its companion case of Doe v. Bolton, legalized abortion in all 50 states, up until birth, for any reason. While Roe is still the law of the land, that didn’t stop the Democratically-controlled legislature and Democratic Governor John Carney Jr. from legalizing abortion in the state, should the day come that Roe is overturned
Contrary to popular belief, abortion will not suddenly become illegal when Roe is overturned. Rather, states will be able to decide their own abortion laws, putting pro-lifers and abortion advocates on a more even playing field, which is much more fitting under the intentions of the Tenth Amendment.
Reuters reported on June 9 that “Delaware is first U.S. State to enact abortion rights law under Trump.” But frankly, inserting Trump into the story is unnecessary, as many other outlets have done. While President Trump ran as a pro-life candidate, he has not yet had the opportunity to honor many of his promises besides nominating Neil Gorsuch, who currently serves on the Court. There is evidence to suggest Gorsuch will be a pro-life justice.
During a “60 Minutes” interview shortly after winning the November election, Trump said that he would nominate judges who would vote to overturn Roe, allowing states to decide their own laws. Delaware just decided its own laws, as if Roe weren’t even in place, which is what Trump claims to support. Do these pro-abortion writers even understand a decision they so ardently support?
Nevertheless, it cannot be emphasized enough that this law is indeed bad news. Delaware Right to Life spokeswoman Moira Sheridan called the law “a tragedy for Delware” in an email to Reuters. The bill permits abortion before viability, and after viability “to protect the woman’s life or health or in the event of a serious fetal anomaly.”
Initially, the language mentioned 20 weeks (at which point the preborn child can feel pain, though new evidence shows they may feel pain even sooner), as well as certification from two physicians, but those parts were eliminated. Viability, then, is merely defined as “the point in a pregnancy when, in a physician’s good faith medical judgment based on the factors of a patient’s case, there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”
The law leaves little room for comfort, especially if abortionists are to be trusted to decide what is “viability” and what constitutes “the woman’s life or health.” Late-term abortionists in particular are known for having given “rubber stamp” approval for abortions, for reasons such as the desire to attend rock concerts or prom. That’s nowhere near “good faith medical judgment.”
These abortions were performed in the name of the mental “health” of the mother. If “health” can include so many different reasons for an abortion (as is the case under Doe), then a woman can have a late-term abortion after viability for any reason.
It is also not explained what constitutes a “serious fetal anomaly.” Parents have chosen late-term abortions for their children for reasons like a cleft lip or a deformed hand.
While allowing states to decide their own laws on abortion is a step in the right direction, preborn children are human beings worthy of legal protection regardless of how they are conceived. The Fourteenth Amendment, which was incorrectly interpreted to create an apparent legal basis for abortion, might otherwise be interpreted to guarantee life and liberty to the preborn.
Nevertheless, overturning Roe would be a promising step for America. Trends of record-breaking pro-life laws have passed. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Utah also have laws on the books which will outlaw abortion when the days of Roe are over.
Roe v. Wade is not only a tragic decision, it is an unnecessary one. The days for Roe could very well be numbered.
