Who’s Laughing About Abortion Now?
It is a little known fact that there was laughter in the United States Supreme Court 40 years ago during the Roe v. Wade hearings. Thought to be the youngest person ever to win a Supreme Court case, then 26 year old Sarah Weddington, the attorney for “Roe”, briefly lost her composure in a choked bout of chuckles before the court. She laughed alone that day, however, and every single citizen in our nation ought to hear what was said, particularly in light of this month’s Alabama Supreme Court ruling that “unborn children are persons with rights that should be protected by law.”
When Justice Harry A. Blackmun asked whether Mrs. Weddington felt there is any “inconsistency” in Court decisions against the “death penalty with respect to convicted murderers and rapists at one end of lifespan, and [her] position in this case at the other end of lifespan,” she replied that it has “never been established that the fetus is a person or that it’s entitled to the Fourteenth Amendment rights or the protection of the constitution.” It was clear to the court, even back then, that the case depended on the “fetus” having “constitutional rights.”
Justice Potter Stewart pressed further, “Well, if it were established that an unborn fetus is a person within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment, you would have almost an impossible case here, would you not?” Mrs. Weddington replied, “I would have a very difficult case.” And then she laughed nervously. Justice Stewart, not laughing at all, continued that this is akin to ruling that if a ”mother thought that it bothered her health having the child around, she could have it killed.” Mrs. Weddington said, “That’s correct,” and declined any further response.
Our laws still, chillingly, reflect this inconsistency. On the one hand, we have the almost decade long 2004 Unborn Victims of Violence Act which federally recognizes a “child in utero” as a legal “victim” if he or she is injured or killed by crimes of violence, and laws such as the one decided in Alabama this month that recognize “unborn children are persons with rights that should be protected by law.” On the other hand, we have abortion for all nine months of pregnancy and impunity for the ones that kill those children, children who are not even guaranteed the protections given to convicted murderers and rapists in some states. It was not funny 40 years ago, and it is still no laughing matter. These are children being killed. Aren’t children people too?
Category: Abortion, Catholic Free Press, Social Issues
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Comments (30)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post
- Who’s Laughing About Abortion Now? | CATHOLIC FEAST | January 21, 2013
- Pro-life blog buzz 1-22-13 | January 22, 2013
I listened to the whole recording.
Mr. Flowers apparently became the lead in this case after the failure of his predecessor. My impression is that he was not the best person to speak before the court in this case either. If the Justices could get past the “uhs” and unfocused argument, he made some very good points.
He didn’t have a good argument over “It was legal” when discussing the lack of laws against abortion in the early year of Texas. He even said he didn’t know why anti-abortion laws appeared in Texas. The important point was that silence is consent in the law. Silence can actually also mean many other things.
I think he capitulated when he sort of stroked the court in saying he didn’t envy their job in trying to decide personhood.
Mrs. Weddington was very prepared and focused the courts attention to the legal argument before it – the 14th amendment and personhood. Very carefully insisting that the court could assume the mother’s personhood, but, must find proof of the unborn’s personhood in the constitution.
She also very smartly used Mr. Flowers admission in the difficulty in determining when life begins.
I found that the dissenting opinion of Justice White the truer one.
“The Court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant mothers……I cannot accept the Court’s exercise of its clear power of choice by interposing a constitutional barrier to state efforts to protect human life and by investing mothers and doctors with the constitutionally protected right to exterminate it.”
– Justice White
This simply bypassed the question of personhood and recognizes that the unborn is a human life with importance to the State as evidenced by the abortion statute of Texas and the claims of the Declaration of Independance.
Why do Catholics constantly go onabout the killing of children through abortion?
\I also agree it is important to stop abortion.
\but if you care so much about children, then why don’t you talk about the guns that kill Children?
Catholics are always talking about abortion
i consider it as evil also
but
if you care about children, why dont you talk about how guns kill children.
I had an 8 year old come up to m e in Mississippi and say” I hear gunshots and hide under the covers”
I told her to sing to herself “jesus loves me this I know…”
and I now in Los Angeles some parents shave their kids sleep in bathtubs for fear of stray bullets coming through the windows.
yet EWTN and you and others do not mention violence as a threat to our children
People kill…whether they use a gun, knife, or scissors and vacuum.
Killing children outside the womb with a gun is illegal. Killing children inside the womb with saline solution, scissors, and a vac pump isn’t. There’s the difference.
Fr. Philip Neri, OP
It is not guns but people who kill people and we as Catholics talk about the need to stop murder at all stages.
Fr. Philip, thank you for being a priest.
Non Sequitur!
Muntil, if you are referring to my comment.
Since the actual comment in this thread starts with, “Why do Catholics….”, it very much answers the question.
Birth, Childhood, Young adulthood, adulthood, mature adulthood, death.
Without the priest, an essential element of that faith, to teach us and administer the sacraments, we would be crippled in our progress through those stages of life – except for any grace given to us by God himself.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone around here, Catholic or otherwise, that thinks that’s remotely acceptable.
The problem with abortion is — a lot of people find it perfectly acceptable and it isn’t.
Adding to what Stacy said, we must remember that guns are inanimate objects. The killing of children is evil, no matter what method is used to achieve that end, But guns are no more at fault in the shooting of children than scalpels, forceps, and suction machines are at fault in an abortion. We are not looking to outlaw these pieces of equipment, because they do good things in other situations, just as guns can. The problem is that, used in this particular way, they kill a child. Killing a child with a gun is already illegal and abhorrent to society as a whole. The debate is about the “choice” to take a child’s life, and the acceptance of it as an absolute right. The weapon used is of little consequence.
Cassi,
“We are not looking to outlaw these pieces of equipment, because they do good things in other situations, just as guns can.”
Excellent comparison. Exactly!
Thank you!
God Bless you!!! I could not have said it better myself!
The anti-gun argument has always been about evil guns and very rarely about the evil person using the gun. In a society where personal responsibility has diminished considerably it is no surprise that blaming the gun is the soup du jour. It is a herd mentality that I used to see in school when I was young. If a student acted out in school the teacher would punish the whole class and make the class stay after school instead of punishing the delinquent student. We make excuses for the abhorrent behavior of others. We blame their environment, their upbringing and all sorts of things rather then the persons lack of responsibility itself. It won’t matter if we ban guns, knives, cars, poison, hammers or what ever else that can be used to kill or injure another deliberately, it comes down to personal behavior and lack of responsibility.
It is analogous to the pro-choice movement in the way where they reject ANY restriction to abortion for they see it as a “foot in the door” to ban all abortions. Supporters of the right to arm ourselves see any control or restriction also as a foot in the door to the complete annihilation of our Right to Bear Arms. This right is written in our Bill of Rights. Where is the right to abortion found? Hm?
TOC,
Yes, yes, and yes. You say the same things my husband says. People don’t understand what rights are anymore. They think it means anything they want, but that is an abuse of rights, not an exercise of them — just like the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. They were free to sin, but that doesn’t mean they had the right to sin.
Your comment reminded me of a story I saw about the same time as the tragic story of Sandy Hook. It was from China. Yet another man had entered a Kindergarten class and attacked children with a knife. The article said this was a recurring problem, and blamed the despair of citizens affected by the economy (or something like that). I remember thinking, “OK, so ban knives! Clearly, that’s the problem, and banning knives will end it.” No. Clearly not. The problem is something else, not the knives.
There is currently almost a hysteria about ASSAULT RIFLES. Owning them, using them, and shooting people with them. We are repulsed by the very thought.
Enter the politicians.
Create a national debate about ASSAULT RIFLES, make a photo-op about ASSAULT RIFLES, create intense interest in ASSAULT RIFLES.
An interesting set of statistics
FBI stats, Murder Victims by Weapon, 2007–2011:
323 deaths in 2011 from rifles (assault rifles are a portion of this stat) .
728 deaths in 2011 from Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.).
http://tinyurl.com/d4hcd4u
An interesting interview with Princeton prof of jurisprudence Robert George yesterday.
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1900/liberty_and_justice_for_all_roe_v_wades_betrayal.aspx
There is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and it explains a lot about how liberals think and what they say. Many times we listen to their arguments and our jaws just drop from the irrationality of it all. We begin to wonder how they’ve made it this far in life, however, I don’t think the small, hard core liberal faction of this country, the ones with positions of power and money are as stupid as we make them out to be.
I do not believe for one moment they themselves believe that guns are the culprit for all the violence but they know that if they say it enough times the sheep will believe it and it will provide the groundswell liberals need. Need for what? The disarmament of the American citizens. I believe it is all about control of the American populace, very much like Obamacare is poised to do.
The government cannot coerce the American people beyond a certain point without risking an armed resistance, so guns have to go. The executive actions do very little in protecting anyone, but if accepted by the American people, it will be a first step. You can be sure a second and third step will follow.
At work we had a few discussions concerning our Freedom of Religion and the HHS mandate, and sadly, most of my fellow workers either were not interested or they said it didn’t affect them since they were not religious or even go to church. I could NOT convince them that if ANY one of our freedoms was allowed to be trampled by this government, then the other freedoms were next in line. Well, guess what? They are up in arms(literally) about the actions of this President against THEIR right to bear arms. It was an “I told you so” moment.
No, the liberals with power are not stupid, they know what they want, they know the sheep that will follow them and they have been on this path for a long time.
People have bought the lie that it is the guns that kill just as they bought the lie that religion stands in the face of inequality. No, these liberals may sound stupid, but in fact, I do not think they are at all or they would not have made so many inroads in our society for such a small minority.
Sheeeeeeeeeesh….The Ordinary Catholic above as anonymous….
I get it, a scheme to double your comment count.
TOC,
You and my husband could talk or hours. He says much of the same, openly talks about these things in public and is often disappointed when people do not realize how much it matters — only to finally get it when it’s too late.
Some 20 years ago when the government was cracking down on cigarettes, which are admittedly a bad idea, he warned people then that if the government comes after that freedom, it’s only a matter of time before they come after our cheeseburgers. He was right.
It should be left to individuals to decide. Why? Because we not animals without an intellect and controllable will.
I share your concern about the — could we call it nafariousness? — of the liberal leaders.
Hahahaha! Well, nothing gets past you Howard!
In my comment above, I have to say that thoughts may seem to teeter on conspiracy and I would have to agree…if this had been said a mere five years ago, but with this administration that is now in power, all bets are off.
About a year ago I received an email from a rather radical friend. It showed a photo of Charlton Heston’s basement collection of guns. All kinds, many wars and periods. He had just died and was, I believe, president of the NRA.
My friend’s worry was the same as most gun collectors. How will we ever protect ourselves against invasion or our own government’s military suppression if collections like this are not allowed?
My reply was that if a foreign enemy or the U.S. Government attacks with WWII non-automatic weapons then we have an equal chance.
Whether it is the Albi’s or Manicheans, it is the rise of an old competitor; matter = bad, spirit = good.
The free will of the human person chooses to be good or bad. It is both a scary thought and a enormous gift. It has created the most brutal tyrants and the most holy saints.
A piece of latex can be used to save a life by protecting a doctor’s hands when he reaches into a persons chest to provide a heart transplant or the latex can be used to contracept life. It is not the object that is evil, but the choice of the person using it.
Good point Jared, the matter vs. spirit question. That’s exactly what it is. I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “Guns don’t kill people, abortion clinics do.”
Stacy, I remember well the war against “BIG” tobacco several years ago and no one seemed to notice the inconsistency of anti-smoking crowd. Very little money ever went to educate the young on tobacco use and a lot of the money went to bolster state coffers for their budgets as well as the attorney’s pocket books. States actually went out and borrowed against the money that the tobacco companies were to have paid them and that well has now dried up. On another hand, the government taxes cigarettes under the guise of making it harder for teens to buy them and again, to use the money to educate them against smoking. This revenue is part and parcel of state budgets now and again very little is ever delegated to education of the public on tobacco. If they were true to their word that smokers quit their bad habit, what will happen when the money from cigarette taxes dry up if most smokers quit? You can be sure it will come from another ‘evil’ habit the populace engage in.
The dirty little secret is that they know most smokers won’t or can’t quit and so the money rolls in. The war on smokers had and has absolutely nothing to do with smoking and health but as a way of taking more money from people for a legal product. If they were so concerned about health, they would have banned cigarettes a long time ago, just as they are trying to do with guns.
We have to stop listening to what these do-gooders say and look at what they do. Things just do not mesh at all. In the past as is now, smokers were easy to hate and demonize. Now it’s the guns that they hate and demonize…funny thing is…cigarettes and guns are legal products. Once more, the war on cigs and guns by the government has absolutely nothing to do with health or safety, never has and never will.
About your husband: It’s obvious he’s an intelligent man
and that you picked well. 
Always interesting how the pro-choicers repeat the same old tired talking points about “well how come Catholics don’t (insert one of these phrases – help hungry children – protest against guns – etc).
It doesn’t work to change the subject. The point remains that abortion is killing an innocent child.
You show very topical theme in your article! Thanks for this!