The day has finally come. We have prayed for this day for nearly fifty years. The Supreme Court of the United States has overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). These two decisions had made abortion on demand legal nationwide and forbade states from passing abortion laws that placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s so-called Constitutional right to abortion. In the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, the Court recognized that this right to abortion is found nowhere in the Constitution and, thus, is not the business of the Court or the federal government. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled to overturn Roe and Casey, returning the issue of abortion to the people in their respective states to decide.
What is certainly an historic and should be a joyous day for Constitutionalists and pro-life Americans has been overshadowed with darkness. Although the Court’s decision could be called a “step in the right direction,” the violent protests from the pro-abortion side have signaled that as a nation, as a people we have drifted in the wrong direction very far indeed.
According to Live Action—a leading non-profit organization in the pro-life movement—since the Supreme Court’s opinion draft was leaked in February, 16 churches have been vandalized, at least that many pro-life pregnancy centers have been vandalized, and 4 pro-life pregnancy centers have been firebombed. Pro-abortion protesters belonging to a group called Ruth Sent Us, descended on Justice Clarence Thomas’ home, chanting, “Thomas is a treasonous turd” among other slanderous slogans. Another group of protesters, donning “blood-stained” outfits and carrying baby dolls, clamored outside Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s home. A man arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s home admitted to police that he had flown from California with a bag of weapons, intending to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh. He turned the corner only when he saw U.S. Marshalls already outside the justice’s home.
Even our nation’s lawmakers have demonstrated utter disdain, not just for the Conservative justices who voted to overturn Roe, but for the institution of the Supreme Court itself. Because the Court did not act as the political arm of the pro-abortion movement, some Democratic politicians have suggested packing the Court. Others have failed to hide their complete disdain for the institution itself. Representative Maxine Waters told a crowd gathering outside the Supreme Court, “[To] hell with the Supreme Court. We will defy them.” Such violence and disregard for America’s institutions is indicative of a problem that touches the very foundation of our nation.
The problem is that, as a people, we no longer share common moral values. For years, we have given away pieces of our soul until, now, many Americans are literally mourning the restoration of states’ rights and the increased protection of innocent human lives. How did we get to a place where protestors parade with bloodied clothes and baby dolls? The mask is off, and the pro-abortion movement has exposed abortion for what it is—a cult-like sacrament, sacrificing babies on the altar of so-called women’s bodily autonomy. Long gone are the arguments for “safe, legal, and rare” abortions. The chants we hear now are for abortion, on demand, at any point because a woman’s right to choose supposedly trumps a child’s right to live. We have come to this gruesome exchange because we, as a culture, have accepted some lies.
We have accepted the lie that the value of a life hinges on society’s estimation. When there is no Creator, no God to estimate our value or hold us accountable, then we are left with only the state to decide such matters. Once again, the arguments over when life begins have long been left in the past. Scientific advancements have demonstrated to us, without a doubt, that life begins at conception. The problem is not that we do not know when life begins. The problem is that we simply do not care. We do not esteem the unborn child’s life as inherently valuable. Life is only valuable when it is convenient, when it is productive—when society deems it as such.
Another lie that we have accepted as a society is that motherhood is second class. Not only have we devalued the life of the pre-born, but we have devalued their mothers as well. The culture has peddled the lie that to be equal with men in society, women must be like men. In swallowing this lie, men have not been belittled, marginalized, or erased. Women have been. In trying to be like men, women have been forced to become men. And in trying to become men, women have been erased as a protected class of citizens. We never hear men referred to as the sum of their parts or masculine functions. But you do hear women referred to as “birthing persons,” “pregnant people,” and “menstruating people.” Ironically, such crass terminology seeks to include men in the female experience but does not include women in the male experience.
In other words, in trying to make women equal with (or rather into) men, our culture has made motherhood a burden to, rather than a beautiful expression of, a woman’s success. For this reason, abortion has become the cornerstone of the modern feminist movement. In order to achieve the goal of equality with men, women have been told that they must deny the special design of their bodies to create and nurture life. They must sacrifice their children to have a career. The lie is that they are not strong enough to have a child as well as a place in society. They must choose between them. Many women who have abortions in this country do not get them because they are being “forced” to carry a pregnancy. They are doing it because they are being “forced” to make a false choice: Will it be their lives or their babies’ lives? The first woman to receive a degree from an American medical school, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, recognized abortion as the destroyer of motherhood and devastator of women that it is. She wrote in her diary: “The gross perversion and destruction of motherhood by the abortionist filled me with indignation and awakened active antagonism . . . I finally determined to do what I could [to stop this] form of hell.” A true supporter of women, Dr. Blackwell detected the lie underlying abortion—that motherhood is second class.
In contrast with these lies, the pro-life movement recognizes that life is inherently valuable and that women have the strength to choose life both for themselves and their babies. The pro-life movement recognizes that human life, from the moment of conception, is inherently valuable because God is intimately involved in its creation. As the psalmist exclaimed in Psalm 139:15-16, “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” This scripture indicates that a pre-born child “yet being unperfect” is still a human being. A person born with “birth defects”—“yet being unperfect”—is still a human being. A person living with disabilities—“yet being unperfect”—is still a human being. Human beings are valuable because of the God who created them. Furthermore, every human being is created in the image of God with the purpose of reflecting God’s character to the world around them. Therefore, every life, in every age and stage is inherently and inestimably valuable.
Additionally, while the world disdains motherhood, the Bible highly esteems motherhood as an indispensable career. Back in Genesis, God promised that the redemption of mankind and the vanquishing of sin and Satan would come through the woman’s seed! Gentile women like Rahab and Ruth were redeemed by God and placed in the line of Jesus Christ. They gained this exalted status through motherhood. The angel Gabriel addressed the virgin Mary in Luke 1:28, “Hail, thou that art highly favored . . . blessed art thou among women.” She was blessed because she was called to be a mother—the mother of the promised seed, the Messiah.
In His sovereignty, God has used motherhood to unfold His grand redemptive plan! Perhaps this is the reason that the Devil has directed so much of his anger and warfare toward women and mothers! In contrast with our culture’s lie that motherhood is something disgusting and burdensome to women, the Bible always depicts motherhood as something beautiful and redemptive. Women were created with the biological capability of bearing and nurturing life. This is something that their male counterparts, no matter how the language changes, cannot and never will be able to do. For this reason, motherhood is not something to be disdained or feared, but embraced and revered as extremely valuable. Strong, courageous, loving mothers are essential to the health and longevity of our society.
How can we, as pro-life Christians, recreate a culture that values life, truly empowers women, and properly esteems motherhood? The answer is simple, although it is not easy. We must continue to do the hard work that we have been or should have been doing before the overturning of Roe. That is the hard work of truly loving, helping, and persuading people.
Truly loving and helping women has been the work of the pro-life pregnancy centers and organizations across this country for decades. They have offered free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing, education, resources, prenatal care, post-abortion counseling, and so much more. And that work will continue. As Christians, we should make sure we are getting in on this work, too. Perhaps that will look like volunteering at a pregnancy center. Or maybe that will look like reaching out to an unwed or single mother that we know personally. It could look like stepping up to foster a child or adopt a child ourselves. If any type of family should be scooping up the abandoned, orphaned, or homeless children of our nation it should be Christian families! Certainly, not every Christian family will be called to this ministry, but perhaps they should at least ask themselves if God would call them to this ministry. It is time for Christians to roll up our sleeves and love not in word but in deed (I John 3:18).
Our loving and helping others will support our work of persuading them. The shrill and illogical cries of the pro-abortion side today demonstrates that they have not had to make a coherent argument for abortion in years. It has simply been accepted as the law of the land. They have not had to persuade anyone. But the burden of proof should be on them. We should be asking why a child’s life should not be protected. Why is it ever okay to take an innocent human life? Why must we accept the false choice of loving either the baby or the mother? Why must we accept the lie that women must view their children as the enemy in order to have successful and significant lives in our society? Our probing questions can be more persuasive than their screams ever could. The truth is that no one can scream a human heart into submission. We must persuade, and that involves making calm, clear, logical arguments for the pro-life position.
In this work of persuasion, we will hit a roadblock. That is the hardness of the human heart. Sometimes facts do not penetrate a heart that has been hardened in lies and sin. By far, the best thing we can do to combat the evil of abortion is preach the gospel. The gospel is the solution to every social ill in our society. Why? Because the sinful human heart is the cause of every social ill in our country. And the prescribed cure for a sinful heart is a transformed heart by the power of the gospel. As the apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). The gospel can reach the crevices that our best arguments cannot. The gospel can do the surgical work that our greatest speeches cannot. The power necessary to change hearts is the power of the gospel. The power of the gospel is not in man—it is the power of God. The power of God is the power to save anyone who believes. If we can become a gospel-saturated people, we can become a united people with a set of common values. We can become a nation that values life, esteems motherhood, and upholds our liberty-affirming institutions.
So, let us rejoice over the right decision of the Supreme Court. Roe is gone. Now, let’s keep working.