Kaddatz: Is it time for Roe to go?
“Since 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision has prominently protected a woman’s right to choose. In effect, Roe v. Wade, as clarified in several subsequent Supreme Court cases, limits states from passing laws that restrict a woman’s “right” to abort a pregnancy.
Not satisfied with the current impact of the decision on a child’s right to life, state legislatures continue to challenge Roe v. Wade and pass laws that limit or restrict abortion choices. In turn, Roe v. Wade, advocates attempt to block these state laws with lawsuits. No matter the case, the legal contest is over whose right prevails: the woman’s right to choose or the unborn’s right to life.”
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. This case comes out of a 2018 Mississippi state law banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. The law moves the point of fetus viability up nine weeks from the 24-week standard. Similarly, the recently enacted Texas’ Heartbeat Act bans abortions after six weeks. It, too, has been the subject of intense litigation. A ruling is expected on the Dobbs case next spring.
Proponents of these and similar laws in other states point out that modern science supports reducing the number of weeks after which abortion is disallowed. We now know, for example, that the embryo’s developing heart starts beating as early as 22 days following conception. Its brain waves can be detected shortly thereafter. The embryo is growing. It has 23 pairs of unique human chromosomes. It is alive, just not ready for the outside world.
Dr. Jerome Lejeune, widely regarded as the father of modern genetics, affirmed that life begins at conception when he wrote, “[T]he fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion … it is plain experimental evidence.”
Source: https://www.vaildaily.com/opinion/kaddatz-is-it-time-for-roe-to-go/
