For 48 years, Americans have been legally aborting their babies under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. Forty-eight years of life lost. Forty-eight years of grief and regret.

CAP recently spoke with an Arizona mother of two haunted for 12 years with the regret of abortion. Tina hesitantly went through with an abortion the year before Arizona started taking abortion regulation seriously. There was no right to an ultrasound, no 24-hour waiting period, no requirement for abortion clinics to inform women of their options. Tina says she would have a third child today – and would have been spared a lot of mental anguish – if any of those laws were in effect at the time. Now, Tina works toward ending abortion.

She is not alone, of course. Former Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson now spearheads a powerful pro-life effort, including the And Then There Were None non-profit designed to help those working in the abortion industry get out.

Progress Since Roe

Roe legalized abortion nationwide, but thankfully, the Court’s decision inspired a movement that today is stronger than ever. Many state legislatures have picked up the mantle after Roe, making great strides protecting the health and safety of mothers and passing laws affirming life. Arizona has been a leader, adding or updating more than 40 pro-life laws since 2009, and earning the recognition for being at or among the most pro-life states in the nation several years running. A recent report shows how Arizona is A Strong and Consistent Force for Life.

Women in Arizona now have the right to see an ultrasound of their baby before having an abortion. Women get 24-hours to seriously consider other options, which abortion clinics are now required to provide. The government cannot coerce health care providers to participate in abortions, and women are entitled to information about the abortion pill rescue if they change their minds after taking the first of two abortion pills. See CAP’s Policy Pages for a list of all of Arizona’s regulations on abortions.

Uncovering Evil

It took the tragic death of a young woman at a Phoenix abortion clinic to open the eyes of many to the deceptive practices of the abortion industry, and to the need for regulation.

Since then, the awareness of the abortion industry’s seedy motives have grown through Center for Medical Progress’s videos showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing the sale of aborted baby body parts.

It was just over a year ago that Planned Parenthood settled a $3 million judgment against the abortion giant in a wrongful termination case in Arizona. Clinic workers covered for an abortion doctor cutting corners and putting women in danger, then they fired the whistleblower.

Still, abortion activists have sold the narrative that only certain lives are worth living, and only the woman can make that decision. The Atlantic Magazine covers one growing aspect of that notion in the recent article, The Last Children of Down syndrome.

Relentless Hope

But, again, many state legislators, including Arizona’s, continue to lead with life affirming policy. A court recently upheld Tennessee’s ban on abortions on the basis of Down syndrome. South Dakota and other states have also introduced similar legislation.

Currently, several court cases are in the pipeline to the U.S. Supreme Court to further protect women and the preborn. Any number of these could be used to reverse Roe or at least allow greater ability for states to regulate abortions pre viability.

At Center for Arizona Policy, we’re advocating a number of pro-life proposals for the session now underway. Proposals that will meet the needs of women and save the lives of children. Arizona legislators have begun filing bills for the 2021 legislative session. We will keep you up to date on life affirming bills introduced by any of the many pro-life lawmakers at the State Capitol. Because, although today we mourn another year marked by Roe, we will never give up the march toward a nation without abortion.

ICYMI

• Tune into the annual March for Life virtually here January 29th starting at 8:00am local time.
• It was ten years ago last week officials released the grand jury report detailing Kermit Gosnell’s “house of horrors.” The dark look inside the murderous abortion doctor’s practice led to his conviction of three counts of first degree murder.
• The Federalist provokes thought with a broader look at the consequences of abortion in its piece, “Roe v. Wade’s Millions of Ghosts in the Cradle Haunt Us All.”

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