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NEWS ANALYSIS

Political, social bombshell detonates inside US with Supreme Court poised to overthrow 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that created constitutional right to abortion

Israel has little debate over abortion, but leaked draft of majority opinion in Washington will ignite national firestorm, radically reshape dynamic of the mid-term Congressional elections

Washington, DC, USA - September 27, 2020: Pro-life counter-protesters at the Supreme Court (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

JERUSALEM—Beginning in the book of Genesis, the Hebrew Bible is filled with direct references to God creating human life in a mother’s womb.

In Psalm 139, for example, David famously wrote, “For You formed my inward parts, you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret….Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there as not one of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

That said, there is almost no political debate in Israel over abortion.

The decision that a woman does have a legal right to terminate her pregnancy was long ago established by Israeli lawmakers and courts.

Today, few lawmakers even defend the rights of the unborn.

Any Israeli woman may apply to the government for permission to get an abortion, and nearly every abortion is granted.

Here are the official rules.

You can apply for an abortion in any of the following cases:

·       you're under 18 or over 40. If you're under 18, you don't need your parents’ consent

·       the pregnancy is a result of unlawful sexual intercourse, for example, rape or incest (as defined by criminal law)

·       the pregnancy could endanger your life or cause you physical or psychological harm

·       you're not married or you got pregnant outside of marriage

·       the fetus may have a physical or mental defect

DRAFT SUPREME COURT OPINION LEAKED TO MEDIA

More than 62 million unborn babies have been aborted since the practice was made legal in 1973.

In the U.S., however, the future of abortion is suddenly in question.

The Politico website in Washington, D.C., broke an exclusive story Tuesday morning indicating that a majority of the Supreme Court of the United States is now poised to strike down the 1973 Court decision known as Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right for any American woman to have an abortion under nearly any circumstances, right up to the moment of birth.

“The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO,” the article began.

“The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right.”

Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito apparently wrote.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court,” Politico reports.

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BOMBSHELL

The news has set off a political and social explosion in the United States that will have enormous repercussions.

If the document is accurate – and if Supreme Court Justices don’t change their minds in their final vote before the decision is released this summer – the Court will officially and legally end the constitutional right to an abortion.

Individual states will be allowed to pass and uphold their own abortion laws.

“Blue” states that are governed by Democrats will almost certainly maintain very liberal laws that allow abortion on demand in almost every case.

“Red” states that are governed by Republicans will largely restrict abortion.

Some states will move to outlaw abortion entirely.

Thus, abortion is not about to be outlawed entirely in America. Women who seek an abortion will be able to get one in “Blue” states, and even in some “Red” states.

However, given that most states are governed by Republicans, the number of abortions – roughly one million annually – will go down dramatically.

The Court ruling will also likely radically reshape the dynamic of the mid-term Congressional elections in November.

Liberals will be enraged and thus likely politically activated to elect more pro-abortion House and Senate members, as well as governors and state legislators.

Conservatives will be elated by this stunning and historic pro-life victory, and may be politically electrified to elect more pro-life Republicans to local, state and federal offices.

Another question will be whether U.S. President Biden decides to push forward with a plan floated by some prominent liberals to expand the number of Supreme Court Justices from nine to some larger number, in order to “pack the Court” with pro-abortion activists, hoping to reinstate Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

Such a move would have to be passed by both the House and the Senate.

Thus, the mid-term elections will become an even bigger focal point because both sides will be vying for control of the national legislature.

Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.

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