50th Anniversary of Roe

Thanks to last year’s Dobbs vs. JWHO Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade is history, but it is history that should be remembered and mourned. This January 22 is the 50th anniversary of the decision that dreamed up a right to abortion in the Constitution and led to a decades-long nightmare of tens of millions of babies’ deaths, constant attacks on marriage and family, and the cheapening of all human life.

As much as we can be grateful for Roe’s demise, in California we still have a lot of work to do before unborn children are protected by law.

California legalized abortion years before Roe vs. Wade. On June 14, 1967, then-Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Therapeutic Abortion Act, which allowed doctors to commit abortions on babies up to 21 weeks of pregnancy who were conceived in rape or if the pregnancy threatened the physical or mental health of the mother. On September 5, 1969, the California Supreme Court found in People vs. Belous that both the U.S. Constitution and the California state constitution contain a right to privacy that includes a right to abortion, effectively legalizing abortion on demand in California through all nine months of pregnancy. Over the following years, the state legislature passed and governors signed multiple laws to fund and protect the abortion industry. On November 8, 2022, California voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to explicitly name abortion as a right.

Unwinding all these legislative and judicial errors will take time and effort, but it is possible! Two years ago, who believed that 2022 would see the end of Roe vs. Wade? Through continued education and advocacy we can build a culture of life, even in California. Visit our Take Action page to find ways you can change minds and save lives in your community in this new year. Contact us if you’re interested in sidewalk counseling or pro-life dialogue training for your club or group!