How the left destroyed Roe
With election season upon us, I believe that conservatives are not being fair in thanking all the contributors to Roe v. Wade being overturned. Roe has been dead for several years, and the liberal left delivered the death blow. It is time that conservatives clear the air and provide the radical left the credit it deserves.
How did the left kill Roe? The words many now will not say out loud: "abortion anytime anywhere."
By 2016, Hillary said the quiet part out loud in a debate with Donald Trump: abortion on demand anytime anywhere.
Roe specifically outlines that there is a time that the baby is entitled to protection under the law. At the time Roe was issued, they said that was about 22 weeks. They also left open the possibility that the time might change — i.e., decrease, with advancements in medical science.
For several years, the left went all in on anytime anywhere, and would wax hysterical at anyone who tried to talk about the actual decision. Roe specifically excluded abortion anytime anywhere, and most free-thinking Americans feel that way also.
After the debate, liberal governors in California, Virginia, and New York started shepherding legislation to do just that.
So, in response, conservative governors and states began to tamp down on the other side of the equation, pushing the definition of when life begins back from 22 weeks to 6 or 12. The court case that opened the door for SCOTUS to review Roe was generated in response to liberal state actions.
It is time that conservative candidates stop taking the blows from liberal commentators and hysterical liberal members and explain that they killed Roe v. Wade. Neither side was happy with Roe. It set boundaries that impacted both the conservative and liberal views of abortion. For that reason, it created a détente for about 35 years. The radical left made the initial moves that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade.
Think about this: abortion is a medical procedure. It should require parental consent and be regulated like any other medical procedure. But the left continued to push to treat abortion as a unicorn entitled to magical treatment under the law. Any commonsense legislation attempting to regulate the medical aspects of abortion or parental rights was shouted down, even though those elements are not addressed in Roe.
Conservative candidates need to hit liberal candidates where it really hurts: liberals killed Roe v. Wade with a number of terrible legislative and policy decisions to allow abortion anytime anywhere. Without New York, Virginia, and California destroying that part of Roe v. Wade, conservative states would not have made the moves on defining when life begins. And conservatives need to say thank you to the liberals for undoing Roe and for their contributions to upholding life.
Maker S. Mark (a pseudonym) is a patriot who can understand and explain advanced math and science, and is worried about the state of the nation and how to solve the problems we face. United we stand, divided we fall.
Image: Lorie Shaull.