A Minnesota law professor expressed hope that the U.S. Supreme Court soon may overturn Roe v. Wade and recognize that abortion “has no roots in the Constitution.”
Speaking with The Catholic Spirit, University of St. Thomas law professor Teresa Collett shared her thoughts about a major abortion case that the Supreme Court heard in December.
“Roe is purely a judicial creation — it has no roots in the language of the Constitution, American history or our legal traditions. As such, what the Court created, the Court can reject,” she told The Catholic Spirit.
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe and allow states to protect unborn babies again. The court heard the case Dec. 1 and likely will give its answer sometime in June.
Right now, Roe forces states to legalize abortions up to viability and allows abortions without limits up to birth. As a result, more than 63 million unborn babies have been killed in abortions.
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After nearly 50 years of abortion on demand, Collett said the court finally may overturn Roe.
“Truth is on our side,” she said. “As a majority of the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recognized in Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, abortion terminates ‘the life of a whole separate, unique living human being.’”
Last year, she joined 239 other women scholars and professionals in an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe through the Mississippi case, according to the report.
Many abortion activists claim overturning Roe would be a political move for the court, but Collett said the 1973 ruling is what’s really political.
“Roe v. Wade was a political decision when made, and it remains a deeply contested political decision today …” she said. “Whether the Court overrules or upholds Roe v. Wade, large numbers of Americans will see the Court as issuing a political decision.”
Collett continued: “The case of Roe v. Wade was originally accepted by the Court to decide a narrow procedural issue. It was only through a series of historical accidents and the determination of Justices (William) Douglas and (William) Brennan that a majority of justices were persuaded to transform the case into one focused on the constitutionality of abortion.”
No matter what happens with the Supreme Court, she said pro-life advocates must keep working to change hearts and helping families in need. Collett is the founder of the Prolife Center at St. Thomas, according to the report.
“We are winning the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens on this issue. We must simply pray and persevere as we continue walking with moms in need,” she said.
If Roe goes, states will be allowed to protect unborn babies from abortion again, and experts estimate as many as 26 states would do so. As a result, hundreds of thousands of babies could be spared from violent abortion deaths every year across America.
Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans support stronger legal protections for unborn babies than what Roe allows, and many support heartbeat laws that protect unborn babies at their earliest stage of life.
