On Jan. 22, 2019, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act, or RHA, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo then signed into law. This act removes restrictions on all abortions, essentially allowing babies to be killed up until the moment of birth. Furthermore, it allows nonphysicians to perform abortions to protect the “health” of the mother.
The passage of RHA was met with thunderous applause. Cuomo directed that several landmarks be lit up in pink to celebrate this new legislation.
Then last week, a few delegates in Virginia attempted to pass legislation that, according to its sponsor Del. Kathy Tran, a Democrat, clearly allows for abortion up to the time of birth.
Just days after the Virginia House of Delegates defeated the proposed legislation, a pro-life pregnancy help center in Culpepper, Va. — a member of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, the NIFLA of recent Supreme Court fame — was vandalized.
Windows were broken and signs were spray-painted with allegations including the words “fake” and “you hate women,” along with other profanities. But there’s nothing “fake” about providing free medical services, support, and other material resources to mothers who may be contemplating abortion for their babies.
The graffiti defacing this Virginia pregnancy center has its roots in the “Fake Clinic Myth” started by Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates more than 30 years ago. This myth provides abortion advocates with a rhetorical excuse to speak from both sides of their mouths: from one side about how pro-lifers cease to care about babies the moment they are born; from the other side about how government should shut down the very aid organizations that pro-lifers established to help mothers and babies before and after birth.
The legislative actions having inflamed emotions of pro-abortion advocates have also shocked the consciences of millions of Americans who logically ask: How did it ever come to this?
The answer to this question is simple. We have arrived here because 46 years ago, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade. These legislative proposals, as horrific as they are, merely codify the original holding of Roe, and its companion decision, Doe v. Bolton.
According to Roe, abortion is legal up to the time of birth if justified for “health” reasons. And the definition of “health,” according to Doe, holds that any stress factor in a mother’s life — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, or based on her age — justifies abortion at any time during pregnancy.
As long as Roe remains on the books, any state law that prohibits abortion under such circumstances will surely be found unconstitutional by a court.
We have arrived at a pivotal moment for the pro-life movement and the culture war for the very soul of our nation. If there is any positive outcome from the actions of Virginia, New York, and others, it is that perhaps a sleeping public has been awakened to the true nature of Roe v. Wade.
How did it come to this? It came to this when our government decided that there is such a thing as a life unworthy of life. That is what Roe and its adherents have to defend. Is it any wonder, then, they should take out their frustrations against those who seek to help mother and child?
Thomas Glessner is president and founder of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, also known as NIFLA.
