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Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of the judicial precedent of Roe v. Wade Friday, responses are pouring in from pro-life organizations and advocates on the historic decision and its implications for the future.
“Today marks an historic human rights victory for unborn children and their mothers and a bright pro-life future for our nation,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, in a Friday press release. “Today the Supreme Court, in line with modern science and overwhelming public consensus, recognized the truth in every mother’s heart and that pro-life advocates have argued all along: unborn children are human beings, deserving of protection.”
Noting that the states now have the power to regulate abortion as they see fit, Dannenfelser added: “An entirely new pro-life movement begins today. We are ready to go on offense for life in every single one of those legislative bodies, in each statehouse and the White House.”
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, held that “procuring an abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right because such a right has no basis in the Constitution’s text or in our Nation’s history.”
Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins, who was demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court on Friday when the verdict came down, announced the court’s decision to a crowd of pro-life advocates who immediately erupted into cheers of joy.
“Roe v. Wade has been a cancer growing in our Constitution resulting in more than 63 million deaths,” Hawkins said in a Students for Life Action statement. “Today, the court has cut it out, and that’s a win.”
Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh tweeted seemingly in agreement that the day would be remembered as a victory for human rights.
“History will look back on today like we look back on the abolition of slavery and the liberation of the concentration camps,” he said. “It is a day when abject evil has suffered a major defeat, and many innocent humans will live and be free because of it.”
But as advocates across the country continue to celebrate the end of the Roe era, Live Action President and Founder Lila Rose said it is important to remember that there is still work to be done for the pro-life movement.
“While overruling Roe is a necessary first step, giving states the prerogative to regulate abortion is not a final victory,” the pro-life advocate said in a Friday press release.
“While this decision will give states the right to protect their youngest citizens, many of our nation’s largest states, such as California, Illinois, and New York will still legalize and even subsidize the killing of our youngest children,” Rose continued. “We will not have true justice until the Supreme Court acknowledges the truth that under our Constitution, every American – born or preborn – has an inherent right to life protected by the 14th Amendment.”