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In perhaps the most climactic ruling of our time, the United States Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v. Wade. The 1973 ruling, which enabled the deaths of over 60 million preborn babies, has been condemned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.
Providing a strongly worded and unyielding imposition to overturn Roe and its 1992 affirmation, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Justice Samuel Alito authored the opinion of the Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
“We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today’s decision overruling Roe and Casey. And even if we could foresee what will happen, we would have no authority to let that knowledge influence our decision. We can only do our job, which is to interpret the law, apply longstanding principles of stare decisis, and decide this case accordingly.
We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
The 6-3 decision will effectively send the power to regulate abortion back to the states as it was prior to the Roe decision in 1973. Given the anticipation of a Roe overturn since last year, many states drafted “trigger laws” intended to eradicate abortion as soon as the decision was released. Other states have drafted laws that will immediately enshrine abortion now that federal protections are lifted.
The ruling comes after a draft of the “opinion of the Court” was leaked last month to Politico. The unprecedented leak sparked fury across the nation, resulting in mass protests outside the Supreme Court and even outside the homes of the six justices of the Court’s conservative bloc.
Critics of a Roe overturn often blame a lack of resources for mothers who go through with abortions and suggest that if pro-life advocates actually cared about life then they would do more to help mothers who have found themselves dealing with unexpected and challenging pregnancies.
However, this claim is unsubstantiated by the fact that crisis pregnancy centers, which operate to help mothers who find themselves dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities by 20 to 1 in America and provide various supportive resources — just not abortion. In addition to operating crisis pregnancy centers, leading pro-life groups have programs specifically established to provide other needed resources such as counseling, diapers, food, and monetary assistance to mothers who would otherwise consider abortion. Among these groups are the Susan B. Anthony List’s Her PLAN and Students for Life of America’s Standing With You program.
Liberty University centralized its prayer, resources, and ministry efforts in the months leading up to the Dobbs decision. On December 1, 2021, the day when oral arguments were heard in the Dobbs case, Liberty University sent 21 buses of students to the Supreme Court to provide visual and intercessory support for a Roe overturn. While outside the Court, several students began praying and worshipping.
