Last month, as hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers marched to mourn the 57 million children lost to abortion, the abortion movement celebrated. These “celebrations,” got quite out of hand for some, and even included arrests for those from the Stop Patriarchy group. It has also recently surfaced that pro-life activist and niece of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Alveda King, who has had two abortions herself, was referred to as “…that old ni***r b***h on the ground[.]”
Abortion still remains legal in all 50 states including through all 9 months in many places as we are still living under Roe v. Wade and its companion case of Doe v. Bolton.
While polls have claimed that Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned, the polls also show the public has little understanding about the court decisions. The media is happy to let the false narrative continue that an overturning of Roe v. Wade would equal a total national ban on abortion.
For instance, why wouldn’t many Americans believe that the Supreme Court limited abortion in the third trimester, after viability. From The Huffington Post:
The Court ruled in 1973 that women have a constitutional right to seek abortion until the fetus would be viable outside the womb, around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
While the Court did create a “health” exception, it doesn’t really mean much. From “Life Matters: Roe Plus 40:”
In Doe, the Court announced that health, for the purposes of late-term abortion law, would be synonymous with the mother’s “physical, emotional, psychological, familial … wellbeing”—in other words, every reason a pregnant woman could give for seeking an abortion in the first place.
It is not just that abortion is a moral evil which makes Roe and Doe such tragic and overreaching decisions. Clarke Forsythe’s book, Abuse of Discretion has documented what many do not know about the background of Roe, and pro-lifers have continuously tried to educate others on just how far the Supreme Court went.
And tragically, the Roe and Doe of the cases, Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, did not even want an abortion. They were lied to by their pro-abortion lawyers who took advantage of them and their situations. Cano, who just passed late last year, didn’t even know her case would be about abortion; she was trying to get her children out of foster care.
The 57 million Americans who will never get to decide for themselves if they are pro-choice or pro-life is the ultimate tragic consequence of Roe and Doe. But it also puts those of us who use our voice to protect the voiceless in a difficult position.
For 42 years now, states have been stifled in their restriction of abortion. That is because after the decision of 7 justices, the states have no choice but to allow for abortion. Even those who consider themselves pro-choice have criticized such an overreach.
The tide is turning though, and we have seen remarkable success on the state level in recent years, as noted by the Guttmacher Institute, former arm of Planned Parenthood. In fact, the Guttmacher Institute also points out that four states will ban abortion when Roe is overturned.
And a recent poll released from Gallup shows that “Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001.” This is under the administration of Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion president our nation has seen. Gallup also points out that, with original emphasis,“Republicans’ satisfaction lower since 2012 than prior to 2008.” That group is satisfied at only 26 percent. Most want stricter laws.
Also noteworthy is that the satisfaction level of Democrats did not change by much, with 46 percent from 2002-2008, and 47 percent from 2012-2015. And, only 15 percent of dissatisfied Democrats want less strict laws. This is not too far from the 13 percent of the same group who want stricter laws. Independents are also less than satisfied, at 40 percent. Overall, only 34 percent are satisfied with abortion policies.
These numbers are similar to the findings of a recent Knights of Columbus poll. According to that poll, 84 percent of Americans think abortion “[n]eeds more limits.”
Pro-abortion groups are certainly noticing efforts from the states. NARAL just recently gave the United States a D on abortion. While such groups may be noticing, they don’t need to be so scared, at least not yet. That is because they still have the crutch of the flawed Supreme Court decisions. It’s not actually on its merits that abortion has prevailed in the United States. When the time comes for Roe and Doe to be overturned, the pro-abortion movement will have to fight on a more level playing field and their job of convincing the American people will become much harder.
