Dear Friend,

Knowing of your interest in protecting the most vulnerable, I wanted to make sure you saw my recent op-ed in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.

Since coming to Congress, I have fiercely defended the unborn by sponsoring key pro-life legislation, including the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. In addition, I led efforts to prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving COVID relief funding.

I believe life is a gift from God and I am encouraged by recent Supreme Court arguments to restore the rights of the unborn.

Positive signs emerge in abortion case

Jodey Arrington –  Guest Columnist
Sunday December 12, 2021

Abortion is a moral stain on the fabric of America, a desecration of judicial restraint, and a blight on our constitutional republic. Ever since the Supreme Court erred in Roe v. Wade, America has failed to live up to its central principle that every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. By creating a national abortion policy, the Supreme Court acted as a legislative body, which severed the constitutional separation of powers and undermined the sovereignty of states and our citizens.

For decades, Roe v. Wade’s disastrous precedent has prevented states from passing laws to protect an unborn baby before viability, the age at which a child can survive outside the womb. As a result, the global death toll from abortion now exceeds every war, disease, famine, and genocide, making it one of the worst human rights crises in the history of the world.

Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments just more than a week ago in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a pivotal case which could overrule the calamitous Roe v. Wade decision. Dobbs v. Jackson challenges the constitutionality of a Mississippi law to ban most abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The arguments focused on the significant scientific advances in prenatal medicine and technology achieved since Roe v. Wade in 1973. For example, we now know the following – that a baby’s heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks, life is viable outside the womb as early as 20 weeks, and babies can feel pain as early as 15 weeks. Seventy five percent of countries have outlawed elective abortions past 12 weeks gestation.

Shockingly, the U.S. is still one of just four countries worldwide that permit abortion throughout a woman’s entire pregnancy.

The court also focused on the broader arguments over states’ rights to determine their own abortion laws. Our Framers explicitly asserted that 'powers not expressly delegated to the United States by the Constitution…are reserved to the States.'

In the current case before the court, Justices rightfully indicated an inclination to uphold the Mississippi law and return power to states to be the ultimate arbiter for their respective abortion laws. They demonstrated a belief that states can gauge the public interest much more accurately than the federal government—as evidenced by the Mississippi law in question being passed by a bipartisan majority of the state legislature.

This week’s SCOTUS hearing on Dobbs v. Jackson showed positive signs for those of us who believe Roe v. Wade was both morally and constitutionally catastrophic.

At a minimum, states should have the sovereign right to establish abortion restrictions consistent with the values of their citizens. However, my prayer is that the Supreme Court completely overturns Roe and restores the right to life at all stages – not just because it’s a fundamental freedom, but because as Americans, we believe life is a sacred gift from Almighty God.