Victory of Life realized

Choice. Reproductive freedom. Pregnancy termination. These are all euphemisms used to describe abortion. Even though January 22, 2004, will mark 31 years since the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, abortion is still a word that many people feel compelled to call by another name. Interesting since abortion was considered a so-called victory for women. Those in favor of keeping abortion legal go to all lengths using other words to describe a procedure which ends the life of an innocent human being. Abortion is not something most of us want to think about or talk about, and yet in our country more than 1 million abortions are performed each year. Many keep the destruction of innocent human life at a comfortable distance, figuratively with our speech and emotionally for our survival.

Yet thirty-one years ago in an overt display of judicial activism, the U.S. Supreme Court craftily usurped the rights of every state in the Union to debate the legality of abortion in the legislative arena and formulated two decisions that created a new, universal “right” to abortion.

While Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in all 50 states, it allowed that abortions could be restricted by states during the last three months of pregnancy unless the life or health of the mother was at stake. However, in Doe vs. Bolton, the U.S. Supreme Court defined “health” in very broad terms to include “all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age - relevant to the well-being of the patient.”

Doe defines “health” in such a way that “health” with regards to abortion can be for any reason a woman can think up and to which an abortionist will agree.

For individuals who still don’t believe that abortion on demand is legal in the United States, they need look no further than the procedure commonly known as partial birth abortion.
In order to ban an act where human children are fully delivered except for their heads, scissors jammed into the base of their skulls, and their brains sucked out, Right to Life of Michigan has supported Michigan’s legislators who passed the Legal Birth Definition Act. Legislation which would effectively ban partial birth abortion.

The Legal Birth Definition Act defines legal birth and the commencement of legal rights when a child is in the process of being born. This bill was passed by a broad, bipartisan majority of Michigan’s legislators, but was vetoed by Governor Jennifer Granholm in October. Abortion has failed women for 31 years. Governor Granholm has perpetuated this failure by protecting and promoting partial birth abortion.

It is good to know President George W. Bush stands with us. President Bush’s words in the Sanctity of Human Life Day proclamation, highlighted on page 5 of the RLM News, motivates prolife people to press on with the efforts to end the destruction of abortion.

It is time to stop using euphemisms for the harsh reality of abortion. Compassionate people in Michigan are talking about the truth of abortion while reaching out to women with real options. Right to Life of Michigan offers free assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800 57 WOMAN. Women deserve better than abortion; women and children deserve the victory of life.

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