Supreme Court and Partial-Birth Abortion
Perhaps the greatest scourge of American civilization in its entire 200+ year history has been the nightmarish butchering of over 48 million unborn babies (“Abortion in the…,” 2007). In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the term “person” in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution does not extend to the unborn. Those with moral sensibilities were encouraged when the U.S. Congress passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003, only to have it struck down by both the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. But now a glimmer of light in this otherwise dark, dismal swamp of human depravity has shone forth. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the decisions of the federal district courts, thereby upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. Among the majority of the justices were the two latest appointees to the Court—Roberts and Alito. In concurring with the opinion of the Court, Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Scalia, added: “I write separately to reiterate my view that the Court’s abortion jurisprudence, including Casey and Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), has no basis in the Constitution” (Gonzales v…., emp. added).
Though this decision is encouraging, and a particularly barbaric, hideous form of abortion has been made illegal, the practice of abortion in its many other forms continues on a daily basis all over the nation. The blood of the innocent continues to cry out to God (Genesis 4:10; Proverbs 6:17).
REFERENCES
“Abortion in the United States: Statistics and Trends” (2007), National Right to Life, [On-line], URL: http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html.
Gonzales v. Carhart, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood (2007), 550 U.S. 380, 1382 (2007), [On-line], URL: http://www.aclj.org/media/pdf/SupremeCourtPBA05-380_All.pdf?email= [email protected]&guid=68D83130-4C52-46F7-B8BB-3F97E0526CDB.
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