Year In Review: Christian Leader Sees Roe v. Wade Collapsing, But Pro-Lifer Urges Patience
December 19, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A pro-life activist believes the momentum has finally shifted in the battle to end legalized abortion in America. He is describing a decision last week by South Dakota lawmakers just one more indication that Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion on demand legal in the U.S., is starting to crumble. Christian Defense Coalition director Pat Mahoney believes the judicial basis for so-called "abortion rights" is falling apart as a wave of increasing pro-life sentiment continues to pound away at it. The latest blow came, he notes, when South Dakota's legislature passed a bill banning all abortions.
"What we are witnessing is literally a crack in the foundations of Roe v. Wade," Mahoney asserts. South Dakota's Governor Mike Rounds has said he will sign the bill into law as soon as it goes through a standard review.
This bill has started an avalanche of sorts, the Christian Defense Coalition spokesman contends. "You now have several other states considering doing what South Dakota did," he says, including "Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky."
South Dakota's abortion ban will doubtless be challenged in the courts, and it could be up to three years before its outcome is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. But Mahoney thinks the measure banning all abortions is a positive sign, and the high court's recent decision to revisit the partial-birth abortion ban further bolster's his optimism. He insists these legislative and judicial moves reflect the nation's feelings.
"You're seeing in all polls taken more and more young people believing that abortion is immoral, that Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned," the Christian leader points out. America has grown increasingly uncomfortable with abortion on demand, Mahoney asserts, "and what you're seeing here is just this incredible momentum to overturn Roe."
NRTL Spokesman: SCOTUS Resolution of PBA Ban Question Will Take Time
But even though the Supreme Court has decided to revisit its decision overturning the ban on the partial-birth abortion procedure, National Right to Life (NRTL) activist Doug Johnson is pointing out that pro-lifers will have to be patient, as the high court's action could take awhile.
"This case will be argued before the Supreme Court probably in October or thereabouts," Johnson says, "and they'll be deciding it sometime between then and the summer of 2007. So we're regrettably going to have to wait a while more for an answer on this."
The pro-lifer observes that he and his organization remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will ultimately reverse itself and allow the bill banning the specific abortion procedure. But in the meantime, he notes, while there has been lots of good news lately, much remains to be overcome before the race's end.
"We have a long way to go here," Johnson points out, "because we've had so many bad decisions by the courts for so many years that it's not a short-term project to get things back to where it should be." Although some optimistic pro-lifers are convinced that the finish line is in sight, the NRTL spokesman is urging patience and perseverance over what may still be a long haul.
Johnson's comments were offered before today's unanimous 8-0 Supreme Court decision in favor of a pro-life leader and his fellow demonstrators. In the case of NOW v. Scheidler, the high court ruled that pro-life activist Joseph Scheidler and others with him cannot be held liable under federal racketeering laws because there was no robbery or extortion component in their actions. The decision brings to a close a 20-year-old lawsuit brought by the National Organization for Women against Scheidler.
