Post Roe - A State's Choice
As states decide where their laws are going to sit on the pro-life to pro-abortion spectrum, we need to be constantly reminded of a few things.
First, that just because a law passes today, doesn’t mean that it will be standing a year from now. That’s true of SCOTUS rulings as well. No law is chiseled in stone. A pillar of Right to Life’s work has always been to influence and bring the culture along as we change the laws of Indiana so that the two are in sync with each other. If one is out of step with the other, then we see anarchy and civil disobedience or a repealing of the offending law. Obviously, neither of the first two is a healthy way for a society to exist and we do not want to see it toppled the next session.
We will have more work than we’ve had in the past 50 years, to show people that an Indiana without legalized abortion opens more opportunities for people not less.
How is that?
When abortion is off the table, it pushes us to find REAL help and solutions for mothers and families in crisis situations. Countries similar to the US in other socioeconomic factors actually have better maternal and fetal health rates than we do. Why? Because when something goes wrong during the course of a pregnancy, for many doctors in the US, the first recourse is to suggest that the woman terminate the pregnancy. The doctors who suggest that aren’t looking for cures or solutions, they’re looking for an easy way out. That is no way for us to treat our mothers, let alone our children.
The third thing to keep in mind is that just because abortions are illegal in Indiana doesn’t mean Hoosiers wont be pursuing and obtaining them. There is already a black market for abortion pills and that will likely become more aggressive. For many, crossing the state line over to Michigan or Illinois is going to be presented as the fastest and easiest fix for their situation. And no, it's not enough to say, “So long as its not happening in my backyard, I’m happy.” That thought is rooted in selfishness and an interest in preserving our own comfort. It is not a thought that can be given even the slightest nod in a genuine prolife community.
Women crossing state lines tells us a few things. One, that they are unaware or unable to get the resources available to pregnant mothers. Two, that there may be someone in her life forcing her to abort (64-68% of abortions in the US are forced though the mother wants to keep her baby) and she needs us to be truly interested in helping her so that we can peer to the bottom of what is really going on and fix the problem at its root. Abortion does not rescue women from abusive situations, it provides cover up for them and is an abuse itself. Three, that the people who had a chance to touch her life have not rallied around her well enough, have not met her with the message she needs to hear or has done lip service instead of being a real help.
If only we could love and serve our neighbor perfectly and if they responded to that love positively and honestly, then all abortion would end. But the world we live in cannot achieve perfection. It is impossible. Nor can we do anything perfectly. So from the start, we are running a race that has many obstacles. Our aim remains the ideal and our strategies, pragmatic.
