Thousands of pro-lifers gathered in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, December 1, during the oral arguments in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Since the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last May, both pro-lifers and pro-aborts have viewed Dobbs as the case that could finally overturn Roe vs. Wade. Dobbs is the first case to challenge Roe at the Supreme Court level since Planned Parenthood vs. Casey in 1992.
The questions the Supreme Court justices asked the attorneys presenting the oral arguments indicate that a majority of the justices are willing to at least undermine Roe vs. Wade, if not overturn it altogether. The Court is unlikely to release the Dobbs decision before June.
If Roe is overturned, the authority to regulate and even prohibit abortion will return to the states. Some states have laws in place that will criminalize abortion as soon as Roe is overturned. Other states have or will pass laws that significantly restrict abortion and the abortion industry. These laws will save hundreds of thousands of lives and, as the years pass, show that women are better off without abortion. States that ban abortion will disprove the claim that women will die or be unable to participate in society without abortion.
In California, if Roe is overturned, nothing will immediately change for our abortion industry. Our state constitution has been interpreted to contain a “right” to abortion, Medi-Cal pays for abortions with our tax dollars, minors can obtain abortions without their parents’ knowledge, and abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy. Already approximately 20% of the nation’s abortions happen in California. In a post-Roe America, we can expect more women to come from out of state for abortions in California.
The end of Roe will be the beginning of an even bigger daily struggle for babies’ lives in California. Our work to educate about the value of each human life will continue. However, with abortion-free states as our example, we will work to persuade Californians that abortion is harmful to women, kills babies, and destroys families and look forward to the day when the unborn are protected by law in every state.
