Letter From the Editors
Bioethics in Law & Culture Summer 2022 vol. 5 issue 3
Joe Kral, M.A.
President
Editor-in-Chief
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Ana Brennan, J.D.
Vice-President
Senior Editor
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Three months ago, with the Dobbs leak, we all awaited the demise of Roe with hopeful anticipation. Now, here we are, living in a post-Roe world. A world most of us thought we would never live to see. The monumental significance of the Dobbs decision cannot be overstated, and I know I still wake up in disbelief. Of course, we also knew that the elimination of Roe would present fifty new frontiers. We won this battle, Roe is no more, but the war against the culture of life continues.
The incremental approach that we pursued for 50 years helped set the stage for this day. Even before Dobbs, the prolife movement was preparing for the eventual demise of Roe, most recently with trigger bans, fetal heartbeat laws, and sanctuary cities. Even with Roe gone, we still live in a society with the stain of the carnage of 63 million babies and their scarred mothers, all in the name of equality and liberty. Overturning one Supreme Court decision is not going to miraculously create a new culture. In this edition of the Journal, Steven Meyer offers illuminating insights into the moral aspects of living in a post-Roe world. A reality we must address in order to bring about a world that respects life.
Building on Steven Meyer’s article, Carolyn McDonnell discusses the legal battles, both on the federal and state levels that we now face. A legal manifestation of the moral dilemmas presented by Mr. Meyer. The amount of litigation and administrative action that has occurred over the past eight weeks or so is absolutely overwhelming. Joe Kral does a very thorough job of documenting all the activity on the state level in the State Briefs.
Jacqulyn Dudasko proffers an excellent summary of the pre-Roe world and the evolution of the pro-life movement, specifically direct action. It is important to remember, not only do abortion advocates want to promote and protect abortion, but they also want to silence anyone who disagrees with them. If these people have no qualms denying the unborn their right-to-life, they surely do not have a problem with denying their opponents freedom of speech and assembly. Abortion advocates are in panic mode, and they are desperate. For years they have tried to silence pro-lifers in front of abortion clinics, but now high profile abortion advocates such as Senator Elizabeth Warren are attacking the legitimacy of pro-life pregnancy centers.
Overturning Roe has unleashed the madness of abortion advocates and exposed them for who they really are. But the elimination of Roe has also allowed the pro-life movement to move forward, not just legally protecting the unborn from abortion, but also pursuing state funding of pregnancy centers or allowing parents to claim an unborn child with a heartbeat as a dependent for tax purposes. Our pro-life policies are only limited by our creativity.
Yes, we need to celebrate the overturning of Roe, but we need to realize that just shifted the work we need to do. We cannot become complacent. Evil has, and always will exist. We will be fighting the culture of death forever. This is not to be pessimistic. If anything, Dobbs has shown us that good can prevail.
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Joe Kral, M.A.
President & Editor in Chief
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Ana Brennan, J.D.
Vice-President & Senior Editor
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