Home > eNews Article > An Absolute Right? Absolutely Not!

An Absolute Right? Absolutely Not!

from the January 23, 2007 eNews issue
http://www.khouse.org (visit our website for a FREE subscription)

This week marks the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision on the matter of Roe v. Wade - the landmark case that granted women the constitutional right to have an abortion. In the 34 years since the court's ruling there have been more than 45 million abortions in the United States. In the year 2005 alone, there were nearly 1.3 million abortions in the US. Approximately one out of every four pregnancies in the US will end in an abortion.

The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade remains one of the most controversial cases in US history. This week thousands of protestors around the country are taking to the streets hoping to make their voices heard on abortion issues. Among the press there is speculation that the new conservative court could make restrictions on abortion or even overturn Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, many protestors have focused their efforts on the issue of partial birth abortion. The controversial 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act has been struck down three times in federal court, and is now before the high court. The Supreme Court heard arguments in November and it is expected to rule on the case by June. The court's highly anticipated decision will set the standard for future legislation regulating abortion.

Last year the Supreme Court ruled on another abortion case, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. The case concerned a New Hampshire requirement that pregnant minors notify their parents or guardians before having abortions. The statute was invalidated by a federal appeals court, because it did not contain an exception if the minor's health is at risk. In a unanimous opinion, the justices determined that the lower court was wrong to abolish the entire law and instructed it to find a more "modest" remedy.

Abortion advocates were outraged by the Ayotte ruling. However polls show that most Americans are in favor of parental notification laws. After all, such restrictions on abortion are only reasonable. Yet abortion activists continue to vehemently oppose any limitations on abortion. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, wrote the following on the subject of abortion and our constitutional rights:

"...There are no absolute individual rights in our Constitution. The Framers forged a system protecting individual rights while recognizing legitimate countervailing interests of the state. In that balanced system, even such fundamental rights as the freedom of speech and free press, association and religion have been subject to some limitations.

For example, when states prohibit screaming "fire" in a crowded theater, they are not diminishing free speech. Such reckless conduct is not part of any reasonable definition of the right to free speech, just as the categorical exclusion of required parental participation is not part of any reasonable definition of the right to an abortion.

Pro-choice advocates would make abortion the only absolute right in our Constitution, even though it was not fully recognized by the Supreme Court until 1973. Conversely, parental rights have been recognized since the founding of our Republic but are routinely dismissed when they collide with the almighty right to an abortion...

What these groups fail to recognize is that the rights of speech, association and religion mean little if parents cannot teach and reinforce moral choices within their families. Family values and integrity are not the enemies of the right to privacy but the very things that privacy is meant to protect."

Abortion has been postured as an issue of women's rights and as a way of advancing the freedoms of women. The truth is, however, abortion doesnt help women, it hurts them. Abortion is damaging physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. While abortion has been promoted as a means of freeing women, it in fact can and has brought women great bondage and suffering. In the end, however, abortion is not chiefly a matter of statistics, politics, or even health. Abortion is a moral issue. The Bible teaches that children are a blessing from God and it repeatedly condemns killing the innocent. God considers human life precious because God made humankind in His own image. Indeed, we can praise our Father in heaven for we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."