• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Nanda Gasperini, a pro-life graphic artist in São Paulo, Brazil, designed this pro-life flag that was selected as the international symbol of the pro-life movement. (Courtesy Pro-Life Flag Project)

Roe and the legacy of abortion

June 27, 2022
By Richard Doerflinger
Catholic Review
Filed Under: A More Human Society, Commentary, Guest Commentary, Respect Life

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and, by implication, a long line of abortion decisions relying on them.

This ends a regime of almost half a century, during which the court invalidated even modest efforts to regulate or restrain abortion — laws on informed consent, parental rights in the case of an unemancipated minor, health protections for women and so on.

Widely supported laws against late-term abortions, and even against mistreating a child born alive during an attempted abortion, were attacked. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, no pro-life activist, complained in 1986 that “no legal rule or doctrine is safe from ad hoc nullification by this court” when the case involves abortion.

The right to abortion, found nowhere in the Constitution or in the country’s legal history and traditions before Roe, was defended more zealously than some rights that are explicit in our founding document. Partly because it was fabricated from the policy preferences of the judges themselves, it had no internal controls against unprincipled expansion.

Five justices have said this must stop. They do not respond, however, by reading a pro-life policy into the Constitution. In his concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh says forthrightly that “the Constitution is neutral on the issue of abortion and allows the people and their elected representatives to address the issue through the democratic process.” In the short run, that will mean a patchwork of different state laws.

The court’s action nonetheless evoked outrage and sometimes vandalism among those who hail the court’s past abortion decisions as landmarks in defense of women’s rights. They will not want to hear, at least not yet, that a vulnerable woman’s “right” to help take the life of her defenseless child is not something to celebrate, that the dignity and rights of women can and must rely on a far more positive foundation.

The challenge for pro-life Americans, especially Catholics, will be not only to protect the unborn child, but to show women frightened by the court’s decision that we will stand up for their interests and their equal status in society. Feminists for Life, a group that takes this challenge to heart, may have said it best: “Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women.”

In any case, women make up just over half the population, and a somewhat higher percentage of the voting public. Women committed to “abortion rights” now face the unsettling prospect of debating women who disagree with them. But that happens in a democracy, and the debate will be infinitely more productive if conducted with civility and mutual respect.

One group ignoring that advice calls itself “Ruth Sent Us,” after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was a prominent advocate for “abortion rights.” The group claims to honor her by, for example, targeting Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s church and her school-age children for angry protests.

But recently I came across “Scalia Speaks,” a collection of speeches by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who was known for his biting criticisms of Roe and Casey. The book’s foreword is by Scalia’s longtime friend, Justice Ginsburg. She concludes:

“If our friendship encourages others to appreciate that some very good people have ideas with which we disagree, and that, despite differences, people of goodwill can pull together for the well-being of the institutions we serve and our country, I will be overjoyed, as I am confident Justice Scalia would be.”

Ruth did not send “Ruth Sent Us.” But she and Antonin could send us to seek common ground in helping children and their mothers.


Doerflinger worked for 36 years in the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He writes from Washington state.

Also see

Planned Parenthood defunding remains in question amid legal challenges

Ireland’s abortion rates rise 62 percent over 5 years; Catholic advocates call it ‘a tragedy’

Judge blocks defunding of some, but not all, Planned Parenthood groups

Is NFP finally breaking into medical schools?

Nearly one in three conceptions in England and Wales end in abortion, government figures reveal

Planned Parenthood

Judge blocks, for now, Planned Parenthood defunding provision backed by bishops

Copyright © 2022 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Richard Doerflinger

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Our Lady of the Snows: An unlikely patron in August

Gray cloudy sky above a church and flowering trees

A Small Gift on a Cloudy Day

JOB

Why would God allow Satan to torture Job?

OSV Editors: The atrocity against humanity in Gaza must end

How to grow in faith for back-to-school

| Recent Local News |

Sister Rita Ann Naughton, I.H.M., dies at 88

St. Bernardine Choir celebrates 50 years of song, spirit and community

Grillo Family Reflection Space

Loyola University Maryland receives $1 million gift supporting aspiring educators, creation of reflection space

Sister Miriam Jansen, former director of international programs at Notre Dame of Maryland, dies at 86

Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Men’s religious leaders confront change with fraternity and faith

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Our Lady of the Snows: An unlikely patron in August
  • Amid shift in public opinion on immigration, Catholic advocates praise bipartisan attempt at reform
  • A Small Gift on a Cloudy Day
  • Planned Parenthood defunding remains in question amid legal challenges
  • Experts see US UNESCO exit as blow to historic preservation for churches, other sites
  • Thousands visit Blessed Frassati’s remains in Rome for Jubilee of Youth
  • Young teen’s relics a reminder for pilgrims that holiness ‘is not impossible’
  • Court dismisses case against prominent exorcist priest
  • Against the odds, CRS has delivered aid to 1.7 million in Gaza since 2023

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en