Anglicans For Life, like many Life-Affirming ministries, was shocked to learn about the unprecedented, leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by Justice Samuel Alito..
Politico, an online news source, published the draft document late on May 2. It indicates a majority of justices support overturning the tragic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. As a ministry of the Anglican Communion that upholds the Sanctity of Life, AFL hopes the Supreme Court makes abortion illegal again, and we will continue to pray that the official U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reverses the Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions that have permitted abortion at all 9 months of pregnancy, and has led to the abortion of 63 million babies.
AFL is cautiously optimistic about the forthcoming, official decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and as we wait for the final opinion we will continue to equip churches in the Anglican Communion to provide real support for women facing unplanned pregnancies.
When Roe is ultimately overturned, the legal status of abortion will become a state issue, allowing state legislators to enact laws that will regulate abortion or outlaw it all together.
While abortion supporters believe the loss of access to abortion will predominantly impact women of color and minorities, AFL believes it will create an opportunity for our society to improve policies that provide actual support services related to all stages of motherhood. Abortion, the killing of our children, does not empower women nor does it improve our economic status. Instead, it leaves women with dead babies still living at the poverty level.
While many people on both sides of the abortion debate think the Dobbs case does provide strong arguments to overturn Roe, the truth is the U.S. Supreme Court could decide to invalidate the Mississippi law banning abortions after fifteen weeks. It could also decide to make abortion legal only through the fifteenth week of a pregnancy, or any number of nuanced points in between.
The U.S. Supreme Court has until June 30, 2022 to officially publish their decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, and until their formal announcement, we encourage everyone to keep praying for the Supreme Court Justices, their families, their staff, mothers, and the unborn babies whose lives are at stake.
