American Society and Abortion

How American society would change if abortion were restricted or eliminated is a very interesting question. On the surface we all would think that as a society there would be an influx of back alley abortions or mothers murdering their newborns or maybe even an increase in self abortion attempts. This issue goes deeper than that. In 1973, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a Texas law making abortions illegal was an infringement on Jane Roes' right to privacy, they overstepped their authority. The United States Constitution grants them the power to interpret law, not to write law. In this case Justice Blackmon stated in the opinion that Ms. Roes' right to privacy covered under the 14th Amendment to the constitution was violated. In reviewing the 14th Amendment I found no mention of an inherent right to privacy guarantee.

In the book "Taking America Back" Joseph Farah, the founder of WorldNetDaily, illustrates this point better than I have ever seen it illustrated. In his book, he merges the political and spiritual aspects of the decision and returns his opinion in such a way that it would make even the staunchest supporter of Roe v. Wade think about the decision. If we as a country are not guaranteed the right to privacy by the constitution, then the U.S. Supreme Court made law instead of interpreting existing law. This much is inarguable. Is it possible that the Justices interpreted the 14th Amendment to include a right to privacy? I interpret the 14th amendment to protect the unborn child more so than the right to privacy. If the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, it would be an admission by those still sitting on the court that they wrote law in 1973. The possible repercussions would be, at a minimum, very destructive to the institution of the court.

Although my personal beliefs are to protect the child, I wrestle with the ramifications. A woman who has been raped or a victim of incest, from a moral perspective, should carry the child until birth and then decide whether to keep it or allow adoption of the child. From a realistic perspective, a woman that has been raped or a victim of incest should not have to carry a child that was neither asked for nor wanted. It is, however, my belief that a pregnancy as the result of unprotected sex should not be terminated.

In conclusion, I believe American society would have to change and that the change could be for