Seeing “pro-choice” people so hysterically upset about the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, makes we wonder whether they just don’t understand what the ruling does and does not do, or whether there is something more than the argument for choice going on.

This ruling did not create a nationwide ban on abortion. Abortion is not going away. No one is, or ever has been, “forced” by the government to bear children. Women still have control of their bodies, or at least as much self-control as they ever have had. As there has always been choice, especially all of the choices made which led to the situation seeking this particular choice, the “choice” to have an abortion is still there. There may be some other choices to be made about the where and when, but there is still choice.

About Choice

I always thought the real issue with choice was more about the desire to separate it from accountability – to remove the consequences of choices already made, which is what abortion essentially is. Now I see in these reactions that there is more to it than just this. People want to make selfish choices, but they also want affirmation that their choices are right, good, even virtuous. Even those who do not, or cannot (in the case of men) choose to have abortions themselves, want to feel that they have chosen the right side of this argument. The choice of language is to make one feel good promoting what is really bad: Pro-choice – as if anyone is really anti-choice; Reproductive “rights” and reproductive health care – which always results in death rather than reproduction.

This ruling leaves choice intact, but what it does do is remove the illusion that this particular choice is right or good. It removes the legitimacy of this action, which was wrong all along. Without the cover of “constitutional right” the bare selfishness of abortion is exposed.

Selfish choices are at the heart of all abortion, not just with those seeking abortion because a child would interfere with their life plans. There is also the selfishness of those who pressure or coerce vulnerable young women to get abortions, especially those who have already abused or exploited them and want to avoid responsibility for their choices. Then there is the selfishness, and greed, of those who profit from the industry, and the self-serving actions of those who exploit this issue to gain or retain political power.

Righting the Wrong

Many of us have known all along that abortion was morally wrong. Killing children is not “good” for individuals or for society, and certainly not for the aborted child. There never was a “right” to abortion in the constitution. Roe v. Wade was not a good ruling from the beginning. I knew it back in 1973 and was sick about it then. But according to our constitution we were bound by it. Just as we all are bound by this new ruling now.

I celebrate that we as a country are no longer bound by a bad court ruling. I applaud the Supreme Court Justices who had the courage to right this wrong. Women can and will still choose abortion, but now without national approval or sanction. The choice was always ours and so now is the accountability, whether that be for our personal choices, or our choice to vote for representatives who make laws in our States.