States may inform women that life begins at conception before they go through with an abortion, a federal appeals court said this week.
The case — a victory for pro-life advocates, unborn babies and mothers — involves a Missouri informed consent law and a challenge by “Judy Doe,” a member of the Satanic Temple. Doe claimed the law violated her religious freedom because she does not believe that “the life of each human being begins at conception.”
That information is included in the Missouri informed consent booklet, which abortion facilities must offer women prior to an abortion.
On Wednesday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Doe’s case and allowed the law to stand.
“… a state is free to use ‘its voice … to show its profound respect for’ life,” the appeals court ruled, quoting a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Campaign Life Missouri, which celebrated the ruling, explained more about what the court said:
The Eighth Circuit rejected the Satanic Temple’s argument that “states may never adopt a ‘theory of when life begins’”, because the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 “clarified in Webster [v. Reproductive Health Services] that states still have a role to play on this issue.”
Further, the appeals court said: “’Roe v. Wade implies no limitation on the authority of a State to make a value judgment favoring childbirth over abortion.’”
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Abortion activists often try to dismiss the fact that life begins at conception as a religious or moral belief, but it is based on science. Numerous medical textbooks, prominent scientists and even some abortion activists admit that life begins at conception and abortions kill human beings.
Doe’s beliefs are not based in scientific evidence, but the state’s informed consent law is. According to the ruling, Doe believes that she was carrying ‘human tissue’ that was ‘part of her body.’ However, biologically, she actually was carrying a unique, living human being with a body separate from her own. Her unborn baby had his/her own unique DNA, separate from Doe’s.
Informed consent laws like Missouri’s are based on science, and they ensure that women have access to basic information before going through with a life-ending abortion.
The Missouri informed consent law requires abortion facilities to provide a pamphlet to women with information about their unborn baby’s development, the risks of abortion and the resources available if they choose life for their unborn babies. It also tells women: “The life of each human being begins at conception. Abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group, 34 states require informed consent counseling prior to an abortion, and 29 require that specific information be part of that counseling. Of the 34, 32 require that a woman be told the gestational age of her unborn baby, and 28 require information about the unborn baby’s development.
Women deserve to know the truth. Abortions kill unborn babies, and they can cause physical and psychological harm to mothers. Now, the nation’s highest courts are affirming that women deserve to be told the truth and make informed decisions before they make a final choice about their child’s life.
