If Roe is dead, more children will live.
That’s the headline if we can believe early reports of a leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade.
Elsewhere you can read all about the political implications for the midterm elections. You can find others talking about who exposed the Court’s plans and why. But if it’s true that a majority of the Court joined Justice Alito’s decision to strike down Roe, then this is the day so many of us have labored and prayed to see. We can rejoice that God has heard our pleas that he would rectify this injustice. And we can move forward in every way possible to protect as many children as we can: by banning abortion where possible, by bolstering crisis pregnancy centers, by building stronger foster care systems, and much more.
This is the day so many of us have labored and prayed to see.
Ending Roe does not end legal abortion across the United States. States can still allow abortion under their jurisdiction. But if this decision reflects the leaked draft, we have a new and necessary tool to make this evil not only illegal but also unthinkable. Finding five Supreme Court justices to right one of the greatest wrongs in U.S. history has taken nearly 50 years. Changing the hearts and minds of our neighbors—especially the women who feel like abortion is their only option and the men who pressure them into sin—will be the ongoing work of our generation.
Everything and Nothing
For as long as I can remember, Christians have argued with each other over whether politics is downstream from culture. Should we change the courts or change the culture? The answer has always been both. While U.S. law prohibited Americans from banning abortion, our entire democratic system buckled under the weight of egregious injustice that made a mockery of the Constitution. Over decades the whole two-party system contorted to fit around this error. Neither party could be described in 1973 as pro-life. Since then we can be thankful at least one major party accommodated a legal plan to overturn Roe, even though polls reveal most Americans wouldn’t want them to do so. Without the work of activists and politicians over decades, this day wouldn’t be possible.
It would be easy to overestimate the significance of this decision, however, if coming days confirm early reports. Unless someone owns up to the leak, there’s no way to be sure of the motivation. Perhaps someone wanted to rile up the public into pressuring the justices to change their minds. As we await final word, you can be sure many pro-abortion politicians and activists will spread an apocalyptic vision of the post-Roe world. The same lies will be circulated, as if we can’t see the plain truth: there is no good or godly reason to take innocent, defenseless life.
In fact, abortion will still be legal for most Americans, no matter what the Court ultimately decides. Access may even be expanded. Taxpayer funding could incentivize more abortions in liberal states. Depending on the final Court decision, the Democrat-led U.S. Congress could still pass a national bill signed by President Biden that accomplishes the same thing that Roe did.
If reports are true, then, this decision changes everything. And ends nothing. The march for life continues.
If reports are true, this decision changes everything. And ends nothing. The march for life continues.
We have worked and prayed for the political tools to end abortion. As we continue that noble effort, the cultural challenge looms. Many women—including women in our own churches—believe abortion is a better option than adoption or parenthood. Many men—including men in our own churches—would rather pay for an abortion than raise their sons and daughters. This must not be so! Our neighbors need grace and truth. In our churches they must find practical help to choose life. In our churches they must hear news of forgiveness when they repent of their sins and trust in Christ.
Whatever direction the political winds blow, the church’s call remains the same: love in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). The Supreme Court doesn’t have the final word, whatever they may decide or whenever they decide it. That word belongs only to Jesus Christ, who prayed for little children (Matt. 19:14). If Roe is dead, then more children will live. Let us receive them in the example of our Savior.