Fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which critics regard as one of the most overreaching decisions in Supreme Court history. Citing an expansive interpretation of the 14th amendment and the “right to privacy,” the court determined that abortion on demand should be legal in all 50 states.

As I have written earlier, the fallout from Roe v. Wade remains one of the key reasons that many evangelicals, including those I call “paleo evangelicals,” remain attached to a Republican Party that at least pays lip service to the right to life.

As we reflect and pray on this anniversary, here are some valuable online resources to find out more about the legacy of Roe v. Wade.

— Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition, 9 Things You Should Know About Roe v. Wade

— Kathleen Nielson, The Gospel Coalition, Anniversary Pictures: Remembering Roe v. Wade

— Tom Strode, Baptist Press, Roe, legalizing abortion in 1973, caused Baptists to embrace life [h/t Trevin Wax]

— Albert Mohler, Washington Post, How abortion became an evangelical issue

Finally, here’s the late Richard John Neuhaus, from “We Shall Not Weary, We Shall Not Rest,” speaking in 2009 [read the whole address here]:

We contend, and we contend relentlessly, for the dignity of the human person, of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, destined from eternity for eternity—every human person, no matter how weak or how strong, no matter how young or how old, no matter how productive or how burdensome, no matter how welcome or how inconvenient. Nobody is a nobody; nobody is unwanted. All are wanted by God, and therefore to be respected, protected, and cherished by us.

We shall not weary, we shall not rest, until every unborn child is protected in law and welcomed in life. We shall not weary, we shall not rest, until all the elderly who have run life’s course are protected against despair and abandonment, protected by the rule of law and the bonds of love. We shall not weary, we shall not rest, until every young woman is given the help she needs to recognize the problem of pregnancy as the gift of life. We shall not weary, we shall not rest, as we stand guard at the entrance gates and the exit gates of life, and at every step along way of life, bearing witness in word and deed to the dignity of the human person—of every human person.