Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade
Fox News' chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream provides details on the Supreme Court's ruling that reverses the long-standing precedent on abortion in America.
When the first March for Life was held in protest of the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, few people understood the serious impact that Roe would have. Many assumed that our movement would eventually die out, and that Roe’s guarantee of a "right" to abortion would persist without serious consequences.
Yet rather than solving a problem and unifying our nation, Roe ripped us apart, leaving us divided and devastated by bitter, hateful strife. More than sixty-three million American lives have since been lost to abortion.
As science and popular opinion increasingly corroborated the pro-life point of view, the March for Life has grown into the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world. Millions of men, women and children of all ages and races have joined us over the years to give witness to the value of every life, and to tell our lawmakers unequivocally that Roe is not settled law.
We have marched each year since 1974 to the Supreme Court where Roe was decided. The symbolism was never lost on me. The hundreds of thousands of young, vibrant youths singing and praying joyfully streamed by the Court, their pro-life banners proudly on display.
SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE IN LANDMARK OPINION
This image came to mind on Friday as I took in the news that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the ability to protect the unborn to the American people through their elected representatives. After fifty years of injustice, the Court’s ruling brings us a step closer to righting Roe’s wrongs.
Yet as we celebrate, we must remember that now is not yet the end, or even the beginning of the end. But, as Churchill once put it, "it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Now that the people have regained their say in abortion policy making, we must work to pass laws that protect the unborn.
We have marched and educated tirelessly for the past half century so that hearts and minds would change and come to see the undeniable humanity of the unborn who are as deserving of love and protection as the rest of us.
Polling shows that the public has grown steadily more favorable towards pro-life views as science has revealed with clarity the humanity of the unborn. We know, for example, that at 15 weeks the unborn child has fully formed nose and lips, can suck their thumbs, and can feel pain, too.
Most Americans support protections for the unborn that Roe did not allow, and which legislatures will now have the power to enact. Pro-life bills are passing in states all around the country and lawmakers are growing more confident in their support of life.
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Still, Roe has left a damaging wound on our country. Decades of thwarting compassionate and popular limits on abortion has left too many mothers scarred and too many innocent human lives lost. The far left has responded by pushing to allow more abortion on demand, right up until the moment of birth, and paid for by taxpayers.
Some pro-abortion activists have even claimed responsibility for firebombing, vandalizing, and threatening pro-life pregnancy centers that offer countless free resources and support to women who want to keep their children. These violent attacks, aimed at harming the pro-life pregnancy centers and maternity homes that are on the frontlines serving women, sadly come from those who claim to act on behalf of women. They are symptoms of the conflict that Roe has unleashed.
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But our goal has always been more than overturning Roe v. Wade. We have marched and educated tirelessly for the past half century so that hearts and minds would change and come to see the undeniable humanity of the unborn who are as deserving of love and protection as the rest of us.
As we move into this next phase of defending life, we are armed with the knowledge that truth, science, and even popular opinion are all on our side. We are marching into a post-Roe America, and our work is just beginning.