LifeNews.com
Senate Republicans Introduce Bill to Make June “Month of Life” to Celebrate Overturning Roe v. Wade
By Steven Ertelt
In celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and eight of their Senate colleagues introduced a bill to designate June as the “Month of Life.”
“Every life is a precious gift from God,” said Rounds. “The sanctity of human life is something we should all work to protect. This legislation celebrates the historic victory for life with the Supreme Court ruling, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.”
“Protecting life and the most vulnerable among us is the most important charge of any society, and the recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court upholds that responsibility,” said Ernst. “My effort to mark June as the ‘Month of Life’ celebrates this major victory for the pro-life movement, one that will pave a path for countless innocent lives to be saved.”
Rounds and Ernst were joined by Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. March for Life and Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee support the effort.
As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.
Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
This is a landmark day for the Pro-Life movement and our entire nation. After staining the moral fabric of our country for nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade is no more.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.