Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The EditorsJuly 07, 2016

A major Supreme Court decision handed down in June invalidated a Texas law that required abortion clinics to meet the same health standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Whether the ruling in the case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, marks a turning point in abortion jurisprudence is still being debated, but there is little doubt that it will embolden pro-choice lobbyists to target other abortion restrictions in other states. Meanwhile, Donald J. Trump is being held up as the only candidate who will appoint strictly pro-life judges, a bargain that even some Republican loyalists are unwilling to make.

For a generation the pro-life movement has focused on undermining Roe v. Wade. Now that Justice Antonin Scalia—perhaps the decision’s most powerful critic—is dead, and his conservative colleagues are in the minority on the court, it may be time for the movement to consider other ways to advance its cause. Hillary Clinton has proposed an ambitious child care plan that would cap this expense at 10 percent of a household’s income. Mr. Trump has suggested employers could take over some of the costs of health care. Either proposal would go a long way to support young parents who fear they cannot afford to raise a child. The pro-life movement could also increase its support of crisis pregnancy centers, which are under fire in some states for refusing to provide information on abortion services. The Hyde Amendment will also need defending if, as promised in the new Democratic Party platform, a Democratic president pursues its repeal.

The courts are not the only place to pursue the pro-life agenda. Muscular lobbying as well as willingness to cross the aisle will be necessary to resist the latest pro-choice surge.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
herb sayas
7 years 8 months ago
I refuse to vote for any candidate that makes racist comments, who knows nothing about governing this country, who changes his mind on positions without any explanation, and many more. I believe that the anti abortion movement belongs in the faiths that espouse this and not the government. Like Vice President Biden I share the view that this is not something that the government should legislate, for more harm, deaths, and evil would result in going down this path.
Lee Ho
7 years 8 months ago
So was your first sentence in reference to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? Also, if you do not believe that the government should give the same protection to the unborn that it gives to those who are already born, then you are necessarily ascribing a less-than-human status to unborn babies, and in turn rejecting the position of the Church that life begins at conception.
John Dahmus
7 years 8 months ago
A large proportion of abortions result from unplanned pregnancies. If religious groups like the Catholic Church would promote contraception for those who do not want a child, they would help reduce significantly the number of abortions. Then government support for child care and for low cost health care as well as for free public education from pre-school through college would reassure many poor and middle class families that they will be able to provide for their children's future. Besides health and educational supports for the family, the country should support a higher minimum wage pegged to inflation, affordable and decent housing, flourishing of labor unions, and strengthening the physical fabric of people's lives by rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of the country. Mental health funding must be a priority. Yes, this program will necessitate the raising of taxes on those who have more of the goods of this world than others, but contrary to the rhetoric from the right, real taxes in this country are lower than in most industrialized countries.
David Laughlin
7 years 8 months ago
"It may be time for the movement to consider other ways to advance its cause" seems to imply that those involved in the Pro-Life movement have not been doing so in MANY other capacities and this gross generalization is not only wrong, but overly simplistic for a publication like America to dedicate an editorial to, though I appreciate the specific examples for other directions one might focus their efforts in light of recent circumstances. Presuming a shift in focus is the way to go simply because the Supreme Court doesn't seem likely to overturn an unjust law is not the witness I'd suggest. It is a 'both/and' strategy and I'd add to it education, care for the poor, the ever-developing clear science of when life begins for those whom it might help, etc. MOST I know who defend life in all its stages are involved on multiple fronts on this topic already, as they should be.
Lee Ho
7 years 8 months ago
As long as Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, the Catholic teaching that life begins at conception is rejected.
Carlos Orozco
7 years 8 months ago
How does one compromise with open evil? How do you bargain, for example, an end to the killing of the unborn? How do you bargain an end to unjust and unprovoked wars? How do you bargain an end to military and political support of radicals that destabilize an entire region of the world? You don't. You call out sleazy politicians that allow such evils and hold their feet to the fire, you stop caring if you end up "hurting" your political party of choice. You have to break free from the political conditioning.

The latest from america

"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024
The paradox at the heart of Christianity is that we must die in order to live again. And few movies witness to that truth like “Romero” (1989).
John DoughertyMarch 28, 2024