A republic – and life – if you can keep it
Benjamin Franklin famously said at the end of the Constitutional Convention that the government was established as a “republic if you can keep it.”
In the aftermath of the Dobbs ruling, it’s apropos.
Women across the spectrum are apoplectic about the ruling and think their rights have been irrevocably infringed.
Honestly, their rights have been restored. No longer is there an “out” for the man to pressure a woman to do as he wants, promising “you can always have an abortion.” Now women truly have the power to say, “no.” They also have the power to hold the man accountable if they say “yes” to the act. They can, and should, honestly make the case that, “Hey, this might be fun at the moment, but you’re on the hook for life.”
And they also have the power of the 10th Amendment to elect people to office who reflect their views.
As the 10th amendment addresses, states can debate and come to a resolution as to how their state feels about this issue. Since we have freedom of movement among the states, I doubt a woman who really wants and needs “reproductive health” will be denied in our country. And there will be plenty of states who feel abortion is a right.
In fact, I bet Planned Parenthood and others begin a concierge service, complete with a fundraising apparatus for their operation. They’ll set up sites in anti-abortion states and escort women to their appointed destinations. Round-trip abortion tourism. It might be, for some, their only chance to travel.
I fully understand and appreciate that some pregnancies are unwanted and that there is an incredibly painful decision to make. And I hope our state legislatures truly appreciate the issue and make rational laws. But these laws need to be local – not a national “right.”
Ultimately, what happened with the Supreme Court will be remembered as a win for federalism: “An issue that is “reserved to the states respectively, or the people.”
If interested, my church’s view on the decision: https://reporter.lcms.org/2022/lcms-responds-to-scotus-decision-on-dobbs-v-jackson/
