If you are disheartened by the deluge of rainbow displays that show up in June, remember that June is LIFE MONTH! This month we are celebrating the end of 50 years of the mythical “right” to abortion enshrined in Roe v. Wade. June 24 marks the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Inc. in which the Supreme Court overturned Roe and held that “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”
So what has happened in the year since Dobbs was decided?
First, the good news. Thirteen states are enforcing laws that impose strict civil and criminal penalties on abortionists in clinical settings. This means brick-and-mortar abortion clinics are out of business in those states. Five additional states have enacted laws that prohibit abortionists from killing babies once a heartbeat has been detected (usually 4-6 weeks gestation).These laws have real influence: Following the passage of Georgia’s heartbeat law, abortions were reduced by over 40 percent!
And now the not so good news. In four of the five states with heartbeat laws, the laws are currently blocked by the courts. In addition, well over half of all abortions in the country are committed chemically, through abortion pills. Tragically, women can still legally obtain and ingest these pills in every state.
So what are we doing about it?
Life Legal is working diligently to ensure that babies who are targeted for abortion are afforded the same protections as other babies in the womb. We are vigorously opposing laws that discriminate against unborn children, treating them as less than fully human.
- In California, we sued the Attorney General to challenge a law that creates perverse financial incentives to abort and discriminates against women who choose to carry their babies to term. We just won a small, but significant victory in the case.
- We are defending pro-lifers who are harassed, threatened, and even assaulted for engaging in constitutionally protected activities.
- We are representing pro-life heroes facing draconian civil and criminal sanctions because they dared to speak up for those who have no voice.
- We are filing lawsuits to hold abortionists and their staff accountable for injuring pro-lifers and violaing their First Amendment rights.
Last June, Dobbs allowed us to envision a future where unborn children are safe from abortion. But that is not enough.