The Right to Life

I gave this speech back in March, but thought I would post it here as a reminder of the sanctity of life. Let us never be deceived by what politicians or others may say in defending abortion. Life comes from God and should be respected as such.

From heated debates in the halls of Congress to pickets outside of abortion clinics, the topic of abortion is a very controversial issue today. Many people from both sides passionately argue to promote their position in newspaper articles, speeches, and over the airwaves. Rightfully so, because this major issue is one of life and death. Although there are various angles from which to look at this issue, I want to focus partly on the constitutionality of abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade overturned laws in most of the states that banned abortion. This sweeping ruling by the Supreme Court majority had a huge impact and continues to have a widespread affect on our country. Since 1973, over 45 million babies have been slain, or “aborted.” Justice Blackmun, nicknamed the “King Herod of the Supreme Court”, justified his act by invoking the so-called “right to privacy” which is nowhere found in the Constitution. He speculated that the 9th and 14th Amendments are broad enough to include this “right”. For the record, the 9th Amendment states, “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” How Blackmun could construe this to include the right to terminate a life in private is mind-boggling. It is even more difficult to understand Blackmun’s reasoning when he invoked the 14th Amendment. Section 1 includes, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.” The Supreme Court must have reasoned that unborn children are not citizens and are not people, therefore not having any right to life. According to the 10th Amendment, the states have reserved powers, including the right to legislate laws and punishments regarding abortion. The Supreme Court however, willfully trounced upon them by declaring the abortion bans unconstitutional. Actually, the court went against the intent of the Constitution which includes in the Preamble “…and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” The Court’s ruling was bad for the Constitution and bad for the country. It is clear by the number of states that had laws against abortion, that the majority thought it wrong. Some abortion proponents say they wish the process to be safe, legal, and rare. The Roe v. Wade decision may have made abortion legal, but it is neither safe nor rare. Far more unborn children have been killed since 1973 than all the soldiers killed in all of America’s wars combined. Some say that is the woman’s right to choose whether or not to abort her child and that the government has no place in intruding on people’s privacy. After all, does not a woman have the right to do whatever she wants with her body? However, the government is supposed to and does make laws dealing with various types of murder. I believe that abortion, terminating the life of an unborn child, falls under the category or murder and thus should be subject to laws that ban it. There is some irony concerning the question of whether abortion is murder. For instance, some states have laws charging those who kill pregnant women with accounts of double murder. Surely, there is some discrepancy. Why is it called double murder if both mother and child die, while nothing is said if only the child is aborted? Others cry that abortion is necessary to lessen the number of unwanted babies, but is it the baby’s crime that they are unwanted? Is it just that the innocent child should die for someone else’s crime or sin? Certainly not! While regular abortion is bad enough, partial-birth abortion is even more horrific and inexcusable. While supporters of this heinous practice may like to blur the lines on when a baby is alive and use less offensive medical jargon to describe the killing of an unborn child, the plain fact is that it is murder. Surely, the woman’s right to choose or the “right to privacy” cannot reasonably defend crushing a baby’s skull and dismembering its body. This scary and barbaric procedure leads to a slippery slope. First, it is permissible to kill an unborn child, next if the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act is struck down in the courts, it will be legal to practice what is basically infanticide. Where will the line be drawn? Will it next be permissible to kill deformed or mentally challenged babies and children? While this might sound a little paranoid and unrealistic, the point is that when we devalue life, we traverse a dangerous path that leads to calamity. The sanctity of life is essential for good morals. When we no longer respect the sanctity of life, our morals swiftly decline. When we accept abortion, we open other doors including euthanasia and infanticide. Some try to skirt the issue by saying that the unborn child, or fetus, is not really alive. They deny that life begins at conception and downplay the significance of the origin of life. Just because the unborn child is not fully developed and cannot live on his own does not mean that he is not alive. I believe that abortion is morally wrong because it is the taking of one’s life, albeit one that is not fully developed or born. Furthermore, the Supreme Court unjustly overwhelmed the numerous state laws banning the procedure and ignored the specific text in the Constitution relating to equal protection of the laws and not depriving anyone of life and liberty without due process of law. Even though the fight for life can often be discouraging because of unjust court rulings, those of us who truly value life should not relent in our efforts to help the cause of the unborn. Abortion is indeed a bloody stain upon our country and one that has resulted in the death of millions. As Proverbs 14:34 states, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” As Rep. Tom Coburn (now Senator Coburn) (R-OK) stated, “We must be focused on our vision for an America where abortion clinics will be a thing of the past, where our laws recognize the intrinsic value of all human life, where all people of goodwill feel compelled to help those in crisis pregnancy, where both political parties are pro-life and where the culture of death is replaced by the ethic of life.”