Posted by
Young Republican on Monday, June 29, 2009 12:54:54 PM
Blogger Note: This is the final part of my series on abortion in America. (Though certainly not my last post on the topic.) For quick back ground, I was an active member of Right to Life for ten years before joining Planned Parenthood a year and a half ago. It is my belief that everyone should be personally pro-life but politically pro-choice.
I have been pointing out for the last month about the legal reality on the abortion issue, from the fact that Roe will almost certainly never be reversed and that if it was (and that is a big if) that abortion would still be legal in America. I also pointed out the fact that all 9 Supreme Court Justices believe that abortion is protected under the US Constitution. But another side deserves to be looked at, that being what would happen if Roe was reversed and the pro-life political community got its way?
We will look at the one of the biggest problems caused by a Roe reversal, the rape/incest exception. If Roe was reversed, and even in the most culturally conservative state, an exception must be made for the health of the mother and more importantly rape/incest. Even the most fervently anti-choice politicians almost always make this exception and the pro-life community tends to agree that this exceptions most be made. So if Roe were reversed either the courts or most likely the politicians would put in a rape exception. The rape exception however would cause chaos to our criminal justice system. All one would have to do in order to qualify for an abortion, is to say that you did not consent to the sexual intercourse that lead to the pregnancy. You can see how this exception would be abused and how telling real victims and those who are making it up would make handling rape cases a minefield. Also, unfortunately but true many women/girls might make up stories about "fake rape" hurting real victims cases. In cases in which the supposed victim is lying they tend to go for stereotypes, in which they blame young faceless African American men.
This could very well lead to false arrests and convictions, hurting innocent people and doing nothing to curtail the number of abortions in this country. This option would also liked be used by the most poor as getting an abortion, if Roe were reversed would not affect the successful to upper middle class, the wealthy, and everyone in socially liberal states like the west coast and the northeast, along with a few others. The rape exception is one of the biggest reasons why reversing Roe is a bad idea. This is not an argument for abortion but rather for making sure the consequences are known of what will happen if the impossible ever became reality.
The pro-life community would be wise to quit challenging Roe, one because it's a lost battle and two because if they were ever to win, would bring chaos to our criminal justice system while doing nothing to curtail the number of abortions in this country. The battle for life must be made at the personal level by talking to women/girls about their options and making sure they are aware of the reality of abortion but it should not be done by politicians. In time to take this most important issue at a personal level as those of us who are pro-choice have argued and stop the tired fight for legal restrictions that would turn into nightmares for us all.