Earlier today, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a case which will challenge current abortion law, established in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Court will consider whether or not a Mississippi law banning second trimester abortions should stand.
At stake? The lives of preborn babies older than 15 weeks.
Passed in 2018, though currently not in effect, Mississippi’s law protects the life of a fetus well before viability, the standard which Roe leaned on in an era with neither today’s life-sustaining medical technology nor our understanding of fetal development. When their new term begins in October, Supreme Court justices must determine whether abortions performed pre-viability are unconstitutional.
Massachusetts Citizens for Life commends the Court for its decision to review Mississippi’s law and acknowledges the many American lives to be saved, if the Court rules in the state’s favor. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which has longed partnered with Planned Parenthood, there were 874,100 abortions performed in 2016 alone. Of those, 5.4% were performed at 16 weeks or later — that’s more than 47,000.
At 15 weeks, a baby’s taste buds form and nerves start connecting them to her brain. Eyelids, eyebrows and lashes are present, as are fingernails. What’s she up to? Sucking her thumb, yawning and stretching.
National Right to Life reminded us this afternoon how developed our children are even sooner than 15 weeks of pregnancy:
- A little boy or girl’s heart has been beating for over two months.
- At six weeks, brain waves can be detected.
- At seven weeks, the baby is kicking and swimming.
- At week eight, every organ is in place and the baby can begin to hear.
- At weeks nine and ten, teeth begin to form, fingernails develop. The baby can turn her head and frown. The baby can hiccup.
- At week 11, the baby can grasp objects placed in her hand; all organ systems are functioning. The baby also has a skeletal structure, nerves, and circulation.
Dobbs is big. It’s the kind of case we’ve been waiting for SCOTUS — the right SCOTUS — to hear. Yet as we move toward October, we need to connect with women and assure them that we are fighting for their lives, their best interests, their truth, too.
We have a ways to go before the fall. Count on months of angry rhetoric from abortion rights supporters. Count on the word “choice” to be tossed about like confetti. Count on just as many untruths to follow. But count on MCFL to keep you informed, so you can reveal to others what’s true and advocate for what must be done to defend the right to life of our fellow American citizens.
With gratitude for partnering with us today and always,
Myrna