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Writer's pictureKatrina Ruzic

Why Roe v Wade Matters

On January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court struck down many federal and state abortion laws which granted pregnant women protection to have an abortion.


Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it was decided that women should be provided with the fundamental "right to privacy”, which included the right to have an abortion.


This benchmark in history separated the church and state. The Due Process Clause, which was originally ratified in 1868, went on to protect not only a woman’s right to choose but also, inter-racial and same-sex marriages.

 

However, on June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overruled. It was argued that The Due Process Clause, did not and could not protect abortions as they were not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition".

Abortion bans, which were once invalidated by Roe v Wade, have suddenly been resurrected. In about 60% of states, abortion is now banned, soon-to-be banned or under serious threat.


Florida plans to restrict access to safe abortion sites, and South Carolina intends to penalize women with 2 years in jail and a $1000 fine. In Oklahoma, unless it’s a medical emergency, women face a $100,000 fine and ten years in prison. States, like Louisiana, plan to classify abortion as homicide, with the penalty being death or life without parole.


Rapists will be sentenced to less time than a woman.


As a Canadian, it’s easy to turn a blind eye to our sisters past the border. In fact, it is much easier to pretend that these issues couldn’t possibly reach us up here. But that's just nativity. It’s coming here.


Six Days ago, a Canadian Conservative MP, took his soapbox to social media with a very vocal celebration of the Roe vs Wade ruling. Arnold Viersen, says he “feels so good”. This journeyman mechanic from Barrhead, Alberta, boldly claimed our nation’s right to choose is the “Greatest Human Rights Tragedy of our time.”

“Right here in Canada, 300 babies die every day in Canada, and this is something that is a terrible human rights tragedy in Canada and the greatest human rights violation of our time and something that motivates me to be engaged in politics and I hope that it engages you as well.”

This 30-something-year-old man, who once asked a female MP if she ever considered sex work, has his sights set on women’s rights and believe it or not, it's within his grasp. 43% of Conservative MPs have given the green light on all future anti-abortion plans in Alberta.


On the bright side, Viersen’s Livestream rant does go to prove that Parliament should require more education than a trade certificate to become an MP.


By using exaggerated statistics and misdirects to carry his point across, Viersen seems to like the philosophy that the louder he is the more valid his argument becomes.

This father of five states, that 300 abortions take place a year in Canada, but I find it hard to trust a man with numbers, you know? After a basic google search, I found a document titled, “Statistics-Abortion in Canada” from The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, revised on March 28, 2022. In Canada 2020, there were 74,155 abortions. Now, I’m no mathematician but divide by 365 days and the result is about 203, not 300.


Arnold states that women are forced or coerced into abortions, but the real question is by who?

Was it not the white men who used force to sterilize Indigenous women? Was it not the white man who kidnapped, and killed innocent children? Was it not also the white man who tried to bury it all? So Mr. Viersen, I’m really just curious, what is it that you're referring to.


Is this just not fitting?
Pro-Life, is by definition, the belief that ALL human life is created equal.

Regardless of size, level of development, education and degree of dependency. In Exodus 21, a fetus is regarded as property, not a human life. Pro-Life" does not mean you can pick and choose who to fight for and who to love,


One hundred children died in Alberta Government Care between 2017 and

2021.

Shouldn't their lives matter? What about the 15 young adults who died right here in Alberta between April 1st and September 30th, 2021? Where are the pro-life marches, the outrage, the demand for change?

There are 8173 children in Alberta foster homes, a 2% increase since 2019, where are the fundraisers to attract new foster parents, and raise money? After all, Deuteronomy 15:11 commands us to help the poor and needy.

But there isn't because "Pro-Life" isn't Christianity.


If you still need a reason to fight for women's rights, take a look at Philippians 2:4: "not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others".

I think that is how we need to view abortion laws. We need to look out for one another, even if when it comes to abortion,






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