Life Site News
‘Very ominous’: Abortion activists panic at Supreme Court taking Mississippi case, pro-lifers hopeful
‘The Supreme Court must acknowledge what science has long revealed: that a unique and individual human life begins at the moment of fertilization,’ said Lila Rose of Live Action.
By Clare Marie Merkowsky
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 18, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Abortion activists are panicking and pro-lifers are optimistic following the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement on Monday that it will hear a case which could overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Court will hear a challenge to a Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. This sets the stage for a decision that will either uphold, overturn, or modify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that imposed abortion on demand across the U.S.
“The Supreme Court must acknowledge what science has long revealed: that a unique and individual human life begins at the moment of fertilization,” said Lila Rose, President and Founder of Live Action. “We are long overdue for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey – cases that have led to the death of over 60 million innocent children and led many women and men to lifelong regret.”
“We pray that the Supreme Court will completely obliterate Roe v. Wade and declare that there is no right to any abortion in the U.S. Constitution,” said John-Henry Westen, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews. “The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection and due process under the law, a right currently denied to unborn children whose bodies are torn apart at abortion facilities or quietly flushed down toilets after the lethal abortion pill regimen — all in the name of ‘freedom’ and ‘reproductive rights.’ We urge all of our readers to pray and fast for the Supreme Court, especially the Trump-appointed judges whose votes could decide the fate of millions of babies in America.”
Mississippi’s Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, celebrated the news.
“As a firm believer in the sanctity of life and the evils of abortion, I am heartened that the Supreme Court will consider Mississippi’s effort to protect unborn children,” she said. “Our 2018 law affirms life and this development represents an opportunity for the Court to reassess its previous rulings that have sadly led to abortion on demand being the near norm in this country.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), founder and chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, said, “Every life is precious and created with dignity and potential. There is no constitutional right to abortion, yet for nearly 50 years since Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, more than 62 million children have been the tragic victims of abortion. It is long past time for the Supreme Court to right this wrong and I am encouraged to see the Court announce it will take up this case.”
Dr. Jameson Taylor, Senior Vice President for Policy with the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, told LifeSiteNews, “Roe v. Wade is old case law based on old science. Here in Mississippi, we have sought to update our abortion laws so that they meet the common-sense standard that limits abortion after the first trimester.”
“The scientific evidence confirms that the risk of a mother dying from an abortion skyrockets after the first trimester,” Taylor continued. “That’s why a majority of Mississippi voters and lawmakers strongly agree our state laws should protect women and not put them at greater risk of death or injury from later-term abortions.”
“Nearly every other country in the world follows the same standard and does not permit abortion after the first trimester because it is much more dangerous for women and an obvious violation of human rights,” he stated.
“The whole point of state regulation of abortion is to protect maternal health and safety and to uphold the state’s general interest in protecting life,” Taylor added. “Instead of basing abortion law on a so-called viability standard, it’s time for the court to put women’s health and safety front and center. Late-term second and third trimester abortions are dangerous for women.”
“The viability standard completely misses the mark in terms of protecting women, as well as the rights of an unborn baby with a beating heart who can sense light, move, hear, and taste.”
Current legal precedent allows any “pre-viability” abortion in America. Some states restrict abortions after 20 weeks, but almost always with exceptions, and there is no federal law against late-term abortion. Liberal states like New York, Colorado, and New Mexico allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, and the U.S. boasts several abortion facilities that specialize in aborting babies close to birth.
“Every child, including a baby ‘pre-viability’ should be protected from the horrors of abortion and the abortion industry. A 15-week-old baby has a face, fingernails, eyelashes, a heartbeat, and brain waves,” Rose said. “The Supreme Court should grant equal protection under the law to all humans, even from the very beginning of every human’s life.”
“This is the case we have been waiting for, but with Roberts now firmly on the side of the left, we need to pray that none of President Trump’s appointees abandon the conservative principles they were chosen to uphold,” Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President at Operation Rescue, told LifeSiteNews. “We need to pray for the best and prepare for the worst.”
“This is what we have been waiting on, guys. It’s time to pray,” tweeted former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate Abby Johnson.
“It’s really hard to see this as anything but very, very ominous for abortion rights [sic],” Jessie Hill, an associate dean and professor at Case Western Reserve University law school who formerly worked as a lawyer for the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, fretted to Talking Points Memo.
“It’s a sign that the Supreme Court is ready to either overturn Roe or change it substantially.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America Chief Campaigns and Advocacy Officer Christian LoBue also called the Supreme Court’s move “ominous.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision to review this unconstitutional ban is an ominous sign and an alarming reminder that the threat to the legal right to abortion is imminent and real,” said LoBue. “If Roe v. Wade were to fall as a result of this case, states across the country are poised to ban abortion.”
LoBue said the impact of a limit on or end to abortion on demand “would be devastating, especially on those who already face the greatest barriers to care, including people of color, trans and non-binary people, those with lower incomes, and those in rural areas.”
“Although Donald Trump is no longer in the White House, he leaves behind a dark legacy of anti-choice, anti-freedom judges hostile to our fundamental rights,” LoBue added. “The anti-choice movement is laser-focused on banning abortion and determined to capitalize on the anti-choice supermajority Trump solidified on the Court.”
“It doesn’t get any scarier than this,” a NARAL tweet warned.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to the news by saying that abortion has been under “withering and extreme attack, including through draconian state laws.” She asserted that President Biden is committed to “codifying Roe” into federal law regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) echoed the call for abortion on demand to be codified into federal law.
The National Abortion Federation claimed in a press release that “there is no reason for the Court to hear this case and the outcome could threaten abortion access throughout the U.S.” If Roe v. Wade is overturned, “24 states would likely take action to ban abortion outright.”
Planned Parenthood Action tweeted that if the case was “a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade that puts 25 million people at risk of losing abortion access.” Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion company. It aborts over 300,000 babies annually.
As Live Action’s Rose put it, “This is the most important abortion-related case in a very long time.”