Abortion – The Central Sacrament of the Political Left by Albert Mohler

[albertmohler.com]

Here is a portion of the article:

Attempts to legislate the legalization of abortion at the federal level were a political impossibility in the early 1970s. Nevertheless, the arguments for abortion found traction in some states. Feminist hopes for a national legalization moved to the federal courts, where such arguments gained a positive hearing among judges ready to legislate from the bench.

The Constitutional arguments in favor of abortion rights eventually emerged from claims of a right to privacy. To be clear, you will not find a right to abortion spelled out in the Constitution—it isn’t there. Nor, of course, will you find a right to same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court invented the right, handed down the Roe decision in 1973, and mandated that abortions become legal in all fifty states. Indeed, the author of the 7 – 2 majority decision, Justice Harry Blackmun, wrote in his memoirs that he had made up his mind that abortion should be legalized before he came up with a constitutional argument—he just had to come up with the legal theory later. Never mind the text of the Constitution.

In the aftermath of Roe, second-wave feminists believed they had secured an epic victory. It was claimed that the Supreme Court had settled the debate and that the nation would never need to revisit the issue of abortion.

Little did they know, the issue would be far from settled almost half a century after Roe.

Indeed, Roe v. Wade awakened the American conscience, which culminated in the pro-life movement and the election of Ronal Reagan to the White House in 1980. Though Reagan once signed an abortion rights bill as Governor of California, he altered his views dramatically. He even wrote a book defending the sanctity of human life and opposing abortion as a great moral evil – even when running for president in 1980.

In the decades after Roe, the Supreme Court has allowed states to put certain restrictions on abortion. But here is something crucial to understand about the abortion issue over the last fifty years: A state-by-state map of America before 1973 showing where abortions were legal or illegal would look relatively unchanged today in 2021. That is to say, the states that, prior to 1973, made abortion illegal are the states that have continued to do all they can to restrict access to abortions. Roe v. Wade did not settle the abortion debate in America—indeed, it solidified the convictions of the pro-life movement which is reflected in our contemporary political climate.

At the same time, the last forty-eight years have also revealed that abortion has become the central sacrament of the political left in the United States. This is evident in a tweet issued by President Joseph Biden on the forty-eighth anniversary of Roe. He stated: “As we mark the forty-eighth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, now is the time to rededicate ourselves to the work ahead. From codifying Roe to eliminating maternal and infant health disparities, our administration is committed to ensuring everyone has access to the healthcare they need.”

We ought not be shocked. As a candidate, Joe Biden made clear that if elected, he would move to see Roe codified through legislation. He also made clear that his views regarding the Hyde Amendment had changed—that amendment ensured that taxpayers would not be coerced into paying for the murder of unborn children. Now, however, Joe Biden has “evolved” with his own party, adopting a radical stance on abortion that now includes forcing Americans into funding the culture of death.