By Carol Tobias, President
The day the U.S. Supreme Court released its Dobbs v Jackson decision was one of those “I’ll never forget where I was” days. The annual National Right to Life convention had just started in Atlanta, and I was surrounded by pro-life warriors (and champions!) from around the country.
A draft of the Dobbs decision had been leaked two months earlier but there was no way of knowing for sure whether the final version would overturn Roe. Finally, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court officially published those long-awaited words:
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
The rest of the convention was almost a blur as news outlets all wanted our reaction, with questions of, “What happens next?”
It’s been two years, and we’ve seen what happened next. A number of states enacted laws to protect all or most preborn children. Some states, tragically, went the other direction. They enacted laws with no limits whatsoever on abortion, even up to the moment of birth, with tax dollars paying for it. The utter cruelty of these people, while not unexpected, is telling.
Both responses were expected. The pro-life movement at large knew that if Roe v. Wade was reversed, the states would split on what they would do. The “blue” states would not only continue the bloodshed, they would also accelerate the onslaught. The “red” states would do everything possible to shield unborn babies and their mothers.
The unexpected result was the measures that appeared on ballots to take decision-making authority away from elected representatives. These initiatives amended state constitutions to permit (largely) unregulated abortion.
We have seen legislators in pro-life states stepping forward with programs to augment the already amazing work done by pregnancy help centers. Their saintly work helps women and their babies through very uncertain times.
Those programs are highly creative, which is why pro-abortionists unceasingly attack them. They may deal with extensions to Medicaid, allow tax credits or deductions for donations to pregnancy centers or state grants to the centers, provide county nurses who will visit the home of a newborn to help the new mom with any health and wellness concerns. The programs may be informational–making sure women know what resources are available from the private and public sector that they may utilize, or reassuring– keeping scholarships available if they delay school for a year.
These past two years have clarified, for anyone paying attention, that the pro-life movement cares about both moms and babies. The abortion industry and its allies in the media and the Democrat party offer only one solution for an unexpected pregnancy—death for the unborn child.
Women and children want and deserve better.
The pro-life movement must and will continue forward, with optimism and persistence. Our job is to expose the dark heart of abortion and proclaim the beauty of every single human life, born and unborn.
Happy Anniversary to Dobbs v Jackson!