On the recordApril 30, 2015
I want to tell you about a brave lady named Ellie, whom I met a few years ago in Kansas. This is her story. One Tuesday morning, back in 1973, she opened up her local newspaper to read about a U.S. Supreme Court decision that shocked her, outraged her, and saddened her. She questioned how a small group of unelected judges could reach such a tragic and illegitimate decision in the name of constitutional rights. That case was the fateful Roe v. Wade decision that mandated abortion on demand throughout all 50 States for all 9 months of pregnancy. In response to the Court's ruling, Ellie rushed out to the nearest abortion clinic. Expecting other outraged Kansans to already be there, Ellie found herself alone. No one else was there. It seemed that the Supreme Court, in far-off Washington, had imposed its radical decision on Ellie and an entire Nation without anyone noticing, few caring, and no one responding about the lives of the unborn. As history does report, that seemingly deafening silence didn't stay that way. Soon, Ellie was joined by others, many others. Contrary to the expectations of the elite lawyers on the Supreme Court, their decision did not short-circuit or end the debate over abortion; rather, over the following years, it ignited the debate. While the Court still stubbornly clings to the ruling, science has exposed its folly. Legal scholars recognize its defects. Most importantly, public opinion, from the young to the old, has passed them by.…
