Roe v. Wade Overturned | Where We Are One Year Later
This one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade is a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come concerning pro-life vs. abortion. We know where we were, but where exactly are we now? What has transpired as a result of the decision on June 24, 2022, and how are people and political parties responding?
“The pro-life organization estimates that the many pro-life laws that have been implemented since the Supreme Court’s ruling last June 24 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ultimately overturned 1973’s Roe v. Wade, have saved roughly 60,000 lives,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said.
The 25 states that offer the most protections are:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Iowa
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Click here to see what those protections are. I’ll just point out a few: In my state of Missouri: “Abortion is banned in Missouri except to save the life of the mother or prevent serious health risks.” Nebraska: “Abortion is banned in Nebraska after about 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions to save the life, or protect the health, of the mother, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.” Some states are fighting court battles, such as Florida: “In April, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law in the state. The six-week ban has not yet taken effect due to ongoing legal challenges to Florida’s prior 15-week abortion ban.”
Pro-life advocates knew, of course, that the overturning of Roe did not mean the fight was over. In many ways, it became a more intense battle as the Dobbs decision simply gave the states the power to decide for themselves, something the Supreme Court determined should have been the case all along. Personally, I believe abortion should be illegal on a federal level, yet I recognize this as a victory, as it was a step closer to that end.
Furthermore, click to see the results of a recent survey “of likely voters nationwide” concerning abortion and life. You may also download it.
Here is a portion of the Executive Summary of that survey:
While much of the coverage on the issue of abortion in the year since the Dobbs decision portrays an America deeply divided, this survey shows that a supermajority (70% or above) of voters agree on a few key areas surrounding the issue, including a majority of Democratic voters:
• Three-fourths of all voters are opposed to abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Of a range of options: 77% support at least some prohibition to abortion, with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, and incest. Only 15% “allowed throughout all nine months of pregnancy, without any restrictions.”
• Seven in ten (70%) support parental notification, requiring that a parent be notified when a minor child seeks to have an abortion. This includes a majority of “pro-choice” voters.
• Three-fourths (76%) support pregnancy resource centers that do not perform abortions but instead offer support to people during their pregnancy and after a baby is born.
Not everyone is happy about the gains in the area of life. Former President Barack Obama is no friend of the pro-life movement, so it is no surprise that he took to Twitter to express his disappointment on the anniversary. He wrote the following:
Click on the tweet image to read his full message.
Let us remember that as a senator, Obama could not bring himself to agree that a baby born after a botched abortion should receive medical care. Although Democrats, as a political party, view abortion as some kind of religious rite/right, his views were deemed even more over the top than most—even using the expression “punished with a baby” in 2008. Criticism ensued, but here we are 15 years later, and he—and his party— are still pushing abortion.
This current administration is not letting up, either. As Newsmax reported, a White House official told NBC, "The Biden-Harris Administration stands with the vast majority of Americans who believe that the right to choose is fundamental and that health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor." They also have some events planned at this time to continue the pro-abortion fight. "We will continue to call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade, the only way to secure access to abortion for women in every state," this official reportedly told NBC.
Be that as it may, on this anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that was a long overdue step, one many of us have prayed for, I reflect on an episode of my podcast, The Adrienne Ross Show, which I titled “Roe v. Wade Decision Gives Birth to Outright Lies, Ridiculous Reprimands, and Quiet Christians.” It’s certainly worth watching on YouTube or listening to at The BMG Network or any major podcast platform, including Substack, of course. Here are the show notes from that episode a year ago, within days of the overturning of Roe:
In this episode of The Adrienne Ross Show in which I discuss the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I call out the lies being hurled at the pro-life community, the reprimands pro-lifers are hurling at themselves, and the deafening silence of some Christian leaders. Watch "Roe v. Wade Decision Gives Birth to Outright Lies, Ridiculous Reprimands, and Quiet Christians" here, or listen at thebmgnetwork.com/theadriennerossshow or on a major podcast platform.
I’ve made it easy for you. Watch below:
The fight for life continues. Prayerfully, one day, all will celebrate life and women, as I discussed in the video above.
RELATED: To see more about the progress in this past year as well as the continued opposition, check out Breitbart News’s “One Year Since Dobbs: Pro-Life Movement Wages War Against the Pro-Abortion Hydra."
Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP