The leaders of pro-life organizations and other groups who support the movement are speaking out after the report about the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade went public.
As CBN News reported, a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito indicates that the court may be preparing to strike down the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right in America, according to a Politico report released Monday.
On Tuesday, the high court confirmed the authenticity of the document.
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Evangelical leader Jim Daily, president, and CEO of Focus on the Family said he’s hoping and praying the decision will be final.
“The Supreme Court’s Office of Public Information has confirmed the authenticity of the draft of the Dobbs’ opinion leaked to media – but stressed the highly-anticipated decision is still pending. I hope and pray the strong sentiments and solid legal reasoning expressed in the document will soon be final,” Daly said in a statement.
“Returning this issue to the states is an important first step in the effort to relegate the barbarism of abortion to the dust heap of history. Championing the dignity and respect of all life is not radical – it’s the mark and measure of a civilized culture. There is a direct correlation between the legalization of abortion and the coarsening of our culture. Affirming life will provide moms and dads with an opportunity to emphasize what is good, noble, and right. There is nothing more beautiful than a baby. There is nothing more charming than the innocence of a child. Why deprive the world of their goodness, especially with so many families eager and willing to adopt?,” Daly asked.
The Focus on the Family CEO said none of the rhetoric surrounding abortion has little to do with a baby’s right to live.
“Curiously, the majority of the rhetoric surrounding abortion centers on a woman’s right to choose and little to nothing on a baby’s right to live. As we have for the past half-century, we must continue serving the needs of mothers while protecting and giving voice to the innocent and defenseless children whose lives hang in the balance. The long overdue reversal of Roe will also reinforce and put on notice fathers, who bear significant responsibility when it comes to pregnancy and the parenting of a child,” he continued.
“I am praying that a majority of the justices will, indeed, overturn Roe – and in doing so, help restore a state’s right to protect a pre-born child’s right to life,” Daly concluded.
Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit national public interest law firm, applauded the excellence of the draft opinion by Justice Alito but said his firm learned about another similar earlier draft opinion written and circulated among the justices some 30 years ago but was not released to the public.
“We applaud the legal excellence and persuasive power of the draft opinion, authored by Justice Alito, reversing Roe v. Wade, and returning the issue whether, and to what extent, abortions should be legally permitted to the political sphere to be fought on a state-by-state basis,” Brejcha said in a statement.
“But we remain deeply concerned. Some thirty years ago, we have been told, another draft opinion, reversing Roe, was circulated among the Justices, although not leaked to the public. We have been told, further, that the sharp reaction to this proposed draft reversal of Roe on the part of pro-abortion Justices persuaded three Justices — O’Connor, J., Souter, J., and Kennedy, J. — to change course and join in a concurring opinion that left the so-called ‘essential holding’ of Roe intact, while subject to a new and unduly vague ‘undue burden’ test applicable to state efforts to regulate and restrict abortion,” he continued.
Brejcha called for the person who leaked the document to be “vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”
“We believe the leak of Justice Alito’s draft opinion to the public — an egregious breach of confidentiality at the High Court, that ought to be vigorously investigated and prosecuted — was calculated to provoke a public outcry on the part of abortion providers and supporters, in the hope of intimidating one or more Justices to refrain from supporting Justice Alito’s draft opinion. No doubt this blatant tactic was inspired by pro-abortion extremism. Thus, Planned Parenthood is already orchestrating mass demonstrations at federal courts, as planned by the leaker or leakers of the draft opinion,” he explained.
The Thomas More Society president said once Roe is gone, his firm is determined to continue the pro-life legal fight in all 50 states.
“We hope and pray — with confidence — that pro-lifers everywhere will stand firm and counter these efforts to intimidate our Justices, and that the Justices too will be steadfast in adhering to the rule of law. We look forward to the release of the Court’s final official ruling, which we now hope and pray will be a true cause for celebration in witness of Roe’s demise. And then, we will renew our determination to fight in the legislatures and courts of each of our 50 states to win full and final protection for the sanctity of each and every human being’s life, from conception until natural death,” Brejcha concluded.
Lila Rose, founder, and president of the pro-life organization Live Action, also responded to the Supreme Court’s draft opinion.
“Roe has been wrongly decided since the day it was issued. It’s illogical and gravely unjust. Overruling Roe would be an important step in the right direction of protecting our fundamental right to life. But if this decision is issued, true justice has not yet been achieved,” Rose said.
“It’s not enough to send abortion back to the states,” she explained. “Democracies shouldn’t have the ability to vote on if a genocide can be committed against an entire group of people. Human rights are not decided by a majority vote. They are inalienable.”
In a statement, Americans United for Life said, “Americans United for Life applauds the Supreme Court’s courage in abolishing its abortion precedents, which have led to the deaths of more than 60 million Americans since 1973, and we encourage the Court not to waver despite the politically-motivated leaking of this draft opinion. The implicit intent of this leak is to pressure and manipulate members of the Court to alter their votes or otherwise water down the language of the final opinion—if the Court is truly the nonpolitical body that Chief Justice John Roberts has said that it is, the Court cannot bow to partisan pressure to change course for the sake of an illusory detente.”
“Americans of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs recognize the injustice and tragedy of abortion violence,” said Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO of Americans United for Life. “We stand alongside all Americans who have waited so hopefully and for so long for the Supreme Court to reverse Roe, to set America on the path to abortion abolition, and to restore justice to our nation. Today is a day for courage and hope.”
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