Overcoming Evil With Good

Friday, June 24th was a momentous day in the history of the United States. The Supreme Court announced its long-awaited decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. At issue was a Mississippi law which protects unborn children from abortion after 15 weeks gestation. Court watchers knew that this case could present a significant challenge to the infamous Roe v. Wade (1973) decision. For 50 years, Roe v. Wade had granted woman the right to have an abortion, despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution nowhere mentions abortion, nor does the right to abortion have any history in American common law. These pesky details did not deter Justice Harry Blackmun – the man who wrote the Court’s opinion for Roe – or his fellow liberals. Blackmun instead claimed that the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment gives women a right to privacy and therefore the right to an abortion.

The due process clause prohibits states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” If you think that this line of reasoning seems strained, then you are by no means alone. Did the founding fathers who wrote the Bill of Rights really believe that they were granting Americans the “liberty” to destroy their unborn children? The reality is that Harry Blackmun conjured a right to abortion out of thin air; their decision was the legal equivalent of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat – without the hat!

Indeed, many believe that a far superior argument could be made for precisely the opposite conclusion: the due process clause ought to prohibit the practice of abortion, since the developing child is most certainly deprived of life itself. It has long been acknowledged by those across the political spectrum that Roe is a legal monstrosity. Even the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg – a liberal icon and supporter of abortion – recognized that Roe was guilty of faulty reasoning.

Now at long last, the Supreme Court has brought an end to the noxious reign of Roe v. Wade. The Court’s 6-3 decision was written by Justice Samuel Alito. “We hold that Roe…must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision…” Alito’s opinion is a paragon of judicial modesty; the Court found that the Constitution neither creates nor prohibits the right to an abortion. Rather, from the Court’s perspective, our founding document is silent on the matter. Therefore, the states are free to manage abortion as they see fit. Alito writes, “Our nation’s historical understanding of ordered liberty does not prevent the people’s elected representatives from deciding how abortion should be regulated.” Despite overheated rhetoric from the political left, the Dobbs case therefore demonstrates the highest respect for our democratic processes.

The Dobbs case is an astonishing achievement, without question the greatest policy triumph of the pro-life movement. Just a few years ago, the demise of Roe v. Wade was difficult to imagine; now it has become a glorious reality! All Christians should celebrate and savor this grand victory. The Dobbs decision will finally allow conservative states to implement legal protection for the most vulnerable human beings – those inside the womb. Laws which protect the unborn send a powerful message throughout our society that every person is of inestimable value, created in God’s very own image. Such legislation will bring a huge measure of justice to our broken world, granting life to millions who otherwise would have had their existence cruelly snuffed out.

We’ve spoken often in this blog about the kingdom of God: when the creation functions and flourishes according to the wisdom and goodness of the creator. The destruction of unborn children is the very antithesis of God’s kingdom: little babies full of potential instead dismembered and disposed; mothers filled with fear and dismay, later suffering emotional and sometimes physical scars; fathers frequently absent or hostile, bullying women into a tragic and irreversible decision. The practice of abortion certainly corrupts humans on the individual level; yet such evil grow exponentially in power when enshrined in our laws and institutions. That is why Dobbs case is such a magnificent step forward for God’s kingdom. Each day, countless Christians pray, “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When the power of the law is used to protect the unborn, these prayers – at least in part – are answered. God’s sovereign reign grows stronger, spreading light and life, driving away darkness.

Yet the darkness has no intention of giving up. The Supreme Court’s decision has resulted in a paroxysm of rage from the political left.

The backlash began even before the Dobbs decision was announced. Democrats seethed as they watched Donald Trump fortify the composition of the Supreme Court through the appointment of conservative justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Barrett. In March 2020, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stood outside the Supreme Court and railed against these justices: “I want to tell you Gorsuch; I want to tell you Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price! You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Schumer’s obviously menacing language prompted a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts: “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter.”

The Democratic response became even more unhinged in early May, when a draft of the Court’s decision was leaked to the left-wing outlet Politico. The leak itself was almost certainly another despicable attempt to intimidate the Court. Pro-abortion activists quickly took their cue; ever since the leak, they’ve staged frequent protests immediately outside the personal residences of conservative justices. A left wing group calling itself “Ruth Sent Us” reprehensibly published the home addresses of the justices; they specifically notified their followers where Justice Amy Barrett attends church and where she sends her children to a Catholic school. Although protests of this nature are prohibited by federal law, Attorney General Merrick Garland has refused to enforce the law.

Events took an even more disturbing turn when a young man named Nicholas Roske was apprehended outside the residence of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Upset by the court’s decisions, Roske was armed with a Glock 17 pistol, a knife, zip ties, a hammer, a screwdriver, a crowbar and duct tape. Roske himself called emergency services and admitted that he had travelled from California to “kill a specific United States Supreme Court justice.” It’s frightening to contemplate that this deranged individual was taken into police custody at 1am, while Justice Kavanaugh and his family were at home. Nicholas Roske has been charged with attempting to assassinate a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Clearly we are living in times of high political tension. Can you imagine the maelstrom which would result if a justice were to be murdered and replaced by a judge of the opposite political view?

Once the actual decision was announced, all hell broke loose. Twitter was littered with open death threats to conservative Supreme Court Justices. Clarence Thomas was the target of particularly vitriolic hatred, much of it based on his race. The racial slur “Uncle Clarence” trended on Twitter. Thomas was also frequently referred to as “a house nigger.” Many twitter users openly stated their intention to assassinate Thomas. Democrat Lori Lightfoot nicely encapsulated the left’s response: while attending a gay pride event, she yelled “Fuck Clarence Thomas!” Lightfoot is no obscure politician; she’s the Mayor of Chicago, America’s third largest city. A woman named Alejandra Caraballo tweeted “The 6 justices who overturned Roe should never know peace again. It is our civic duty to accost them every time they are in public.” The Christian satirists at the Babylon Bee noted that Twitter determined that this explicitly violent message did not violate their standards, yet the Bee’s account has been banned for months because they referred to a transgender man as a man.

When asked about Clarence Thomas, Hillary Clinton groused, “He’s been a person of grievance for as long as I’ve known him. Resentment, grievance, anger.” Meanwhile, a group calling itself “Jane’s Revenge” has called for “a night of rage.” This shadowy outfit distributed flyers stating, “The night SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade hit the streets you said you’d riot.” These are no idle threats. Since the draft opinion leak on May 2, dozens of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers have been attacked. Many crisis pregnancy centers have been firebombed; other centers have had their windows smashed and property destroyed. Jane’s Revenge has claimed credit for some of these incidents. Their calling card involves spray-painted messages such as “Jane was here” and “If abortions aren’t safe, you’re not either.” At one facility in Portland, perpetrators spray painted “Fuck Crisis Pregnancy Centers” on the walls.

Clearly the practice of abortion will continue to bitterly divide Americans for years to come. No sentient person believes that this court decision will put the issue to rest. Democrat-controlled states such as California and New York will continue to eagerly churn out abortions on demand. Yet these difficult realities should not deter us from rejoicing in the marvelous victory which was attained through the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Dobbs is a very real, tangible triumph which will pay huge dividends in years to come; many lives will be saved; countless mothers will escape a lifetime of grief and regret.

In the next blog, we shall continue to examine the abortion issue, focusing on how Christians can think wisely about what has transpired and how moving forward we can respond to the new opportunities offered by the post-Dobbs landscape. How can Christians continue to confront the evil of abortion? Here’s a hint: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”