In June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization court case, effectively overturned the previous 1973 Roe vs. Wade court decision that had federally legalized abortion in all 50 states. Due to this decision, abortion has now returned to the will of each state and is no longer a federal law.
As we are soon approaching the second anniversary of this decision that removed the blanket legalization of abortion in all 50 states, we must pause and evaluate where that leaves us now.
One would have thought that the number of abortions would have gone down. Of course, in the states where abortion is illegal, the numbers have all but disappeared. Yet, in the states where abortion is legal, their numbers have dramatically increased. In 2023, there were over one million abortions in the U.S., which is the highest in over a decade, and nearly 2/3 of all abortions are currently done as medication abortions. (1) If you’re unfamiliar with medication abortions, take a look at this blog post HERE.
Currently, there is another court case the U.S. Supreme Court is deliberating on, known as U.S. Food and Drug Administration vs. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. This case challenges the current protocol of how one can obtain a medical abortion (aka The Abortion Pill, chemical abortion). In recent years, the FDA has dramatically lifted provisions meant to safeguard women. Previously, the abortion pills could only be dispensed up until the seventh week; the patient was to be under a doctor’s supervision; and they were to have a confirmed pregnancy test and ultrasound.
The FDA has removed these safeguards for women, risking their health. These abortion pills can now be dispensed through the mail via telehealth without ever receiving a physical exam from a doctor. This lack of in-person medical supervision puts all women seeking such abortion at risk.
Alliance Defending Freedom, the law firm representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the safeguards for women. You can read more HERE. This U.S. Food and Drug Administration vs. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case was heard before the Supreme Court in March of 2024 and should have its ruling in June 2024.
We know that medical abortion takes the life of the preborn child and it can also be harmful to the mother. It is imperative we hold to the tenant that all lives have intrinsic value.
So what does this mean for us? While we need to be moving forward in aligning our country’s laws to uphold the dignity and value of all life, we have seen with the issue of abortion, the political climate causes the laws to sway back and forth.
Therefore, the Church’s priority is to make abortion unthinkable by creating an environment where women will not even want to choose abortion. As we focus on establishing and growing life-affirming ministries in our churches, we can offer support and hope for those in an unplanned pregnancy so they don’t feel alone. We can provide after-abortion healing to those struggling with a past abortion. We can also message the importance of intimacy in the context of a loving marriage that welcomes the life of the preborn.
The laws of abortion will continue to swing on the pendulum between pro-life and pro-abortion. Let’s create a culture that makes abortion unthinkable and undesirable.
1. US abortions reach highest level in over a decade, sparked by surge in medication abortion by Deidre McPhillips. Click HERE.
