Recently the Supreme Court issued its decision in NIFLA v. Becerra, a 5–4 vote ruling that the state of California cannot compel pregnancy-resource centers to advertise for the state’s abortion services. The decision has been applauded by conservatives as a win for both free speech and anti-abortion / pro-life right groups.
The case concerned California’s Reproductive FACT Act, which mandated that women’s health clinics (that were set up to aide and help women carry full-term and not abort their pregnancies) must provide a pre-written notice to clients informing them that they can get an abortion for free or very cheap and where they can get more information about it.
While liberals have been lamenting this “loss,” their fears have intensified with the announcement of U.S. Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, giving President Trump yet another opportunity to pick a second (conservative) Supreme Court justice. The left-wing of this country fears that another pro-life justice could set their pro-abortion agenda back decades, and this author certainly hopes it does.
With this topic occupying the news, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss why I believe we should all be pro-life or anti-abortion. It is actually quite simple. It is because the Torah considers it murder and forbids it.
The reason that we consider murder or stealing or any act to be “wrong” is because God so deemed it. It is not because we feel it is wrong or a group of people decided it was wrong. Our moral compass is based on what God informed us is right and wrong. In regard to abortion the Torah informed us that an unborn fetus, from 40 days after inception, is considered a life and cannot simply be terminated at will (Rambam hilchos Rotzeiach 1:9; hilchos Melachim 9:4; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 425:2).
It is not any one person or group of thinkers who decided that abortion is morally unacceptable; it was the Creator of the universe, who sets all of our morals, who decided that abortion is wrong.
However, it is this exact point that the left-wing liberals of this country, and around the world, do not want to acknowledge. They do not want to believe that there is a God and He has communicated His will. They do not want to be subjugated to follow God. On the contrary, they wish to demoralize society and distance people from religion. They urge people to follow their heart’s desire and pursue any and every sick and disgusting temptation, fantasy, or lifestyle they can possibly dream of. They openly deny the existence of God and His natural laws and despise those who adhere to them.
Thankfully, this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. The role of the Supreme Court is to interpret the constitution as the framers intended. Those values forbid abortion. Those values don’t view it as something that we have a choice about; rather as something that is morally wrong, just like anything else that is forbidden.
This is also why many progressives have strongly objected to some of the candidates on President Trump’s short list to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. One example is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, whose credentials are nothing short of excellent, yet she has been the target much scorn to many on the left. It seems that her only blunder is that she is a faithful Christian. They fear that she may not share their view of immorality and would likely not advance their shameful agenda, as the Obama appointees so loyally have.
Over twenty five years ago Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, was deeply concerned with the immoral path the Democrats were leading this country down. He said that world history teaches us that when a country becomes completely immoral God ceases to permit its existence. Decades ago Rav Miller was concerned with the direction the Democrats were headed; one can only wonder what he would say today?
We must be extremely thankful that Hashem has appointed a leader who has implemented common sense policies and seeks to keep this country moral by appointing righteous justices to the Supreme Court, may he continue to do so.