You may have heard the news that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up Alabama’s ban on dismemberment abortions. While frustrating for prolife people working on our petition drive to end dismemberment abortions in Michigan, it’s not a cause for alarm.

Right to Life of Michigan’s effort to end dismemberment amends our state’s partial-birth abortion ban; expect a process similar to the long effort to ban partial-birth abortions. That took four laws, three court cases and a petition drive. At one point the U.S. Supreme Court even ruled against a partial-birth abortion ban!

It took patience and hard work, but we achieved that goal. Now we face the next step.

The Supreme Court has the first conservative majority since 1937, but they seem hesitant to advance the prolife legal frontier in 2019. They’ve also declined to take up Indiana’s ban on abortions targeted at disabled children, and federal judges have blocked heartbeat bans and other bans in other states.

It’s tempting to give in to frustration, especially for those new to the prolife movement who have mistakenly believed prolife bans in states like Alabama and Georgia were going into immediate effect. Because of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, our judges control abortion law instead of people and their elected representatives. So far, our top judges aren’t ready to budge. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has commented on his colleagues’ lack of courage and wrote they can’t continue ignoring abortion.

Contrary to wish-casting from pro-abortion talking heads in the media, the prolife movement’s activity on the state level has not created a backlash. The latest Gallup poll even shows gains in prolife sentiment.

Prolife people can’t control Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ courage level, but we can control our effort. We must continue to press on and educate people about abortion. President Trump continues to appoint excellent judges to change the legal landscape. It’s up to us to continue prolife momentum on the ground. The way to do that in Michigan is by completing our dismemberment ban petition drive.

We’re confident someday Roe v. Wade will go, and Michigan will restore our legal protection for every unborn child. The day that happens is beyond our direct control, but prolife people will continue to clear the path forward to it.

If you’d like to walk this path with us, visit michiganvalueslife.org and help end dismemberment abortions in Michigan.

Chris Gast
Director of Communication/Education
RTL.org