Roe v. Wade Turns 35, and New Jersey Ranks Among Life's Worst Enemies
Posted January 25, 2008

Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and its sister case, Doe v. Bolton, two Supreme Court decisions that have resulted in the brutal deaths of more than 45 million preborn babies. 

Amid the mourning, there was a bright spot in the week, and it came in the form of a report by the Guttmacher Institute indicating that in 2005, the national abortion rate dropped to a 30 year low, falling to 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women (ages 15-44).  This is, of course, 19.4 too many abortions; yet, it represented a positive trend since the abortion rate reached its high of 29.3 in 1981.  Additionally, the Guttmacher Institute reported that the number of abortions decreased as well, from a high of 1.6 million in 1990 to 1.2 million in 2005. 

Yet, even with this encouraging news, there is also disturbing news both on the national front and on our own New Jersey front.

Nationally, while the abortion rate has declined, the use of RU-486, the so-called “medical” or “non-surgical” abortion is rising…and rising sharply. RU-486 is the generic name of the drug mifepristone. The drug is administered to women in a doctor’s office, and it acts by blocking hormone progesterone, which is necessary for the baby’s survival.  A few days later, women take a second drug, which, in essence, causes a miscarriage.  Women are advised to return to their doctor a few weeks later to ensure the procedure “worked.”

According to the Washington Post, RU-486 abortions have been rising at a rate of 22 percent a year.  The Guttmacher Institute notes that these “medical” abortions accounted for 13% (161,000) of all abortions performed in 2005 and 22% of all abortions performed by the ninth week of pregnancy. Because fewer states are required to report RU-486 abortions than are required to report surgical abortions (New Jersey is not required to report either), we may never know the accurate number of RU-486 deaths.

Perhaps most disturbing in recent headlines, however, was the Bergen Record article reporting that New Jersey’s abortion rate is the second highest in the nation, trailing only New York’s rate. The article references the same Guttmacher survey in noting that New Jersey’s abortion rate in 2005 was 34 per 1,000 women ages 15-44. This is nearly double the national rate! In real numbers, it means that in 2005, New Jersey performed 61,150 of the 1.21 million abortions nationwide.

Additionally, our state continues to be one of the most anti-life states in the nation. According to Americans United for Life (AUL), New Jersey ranks 47th on pro-life issues, earning us a spot among the top ten worst states for life.

While this is horrific to say the least, it is not surprising.  As AUL reports, New Jersey has no parental notification laws or parental consent laws, provides court-ordered Medicaid coverage for “medically necessary” abortions, requires hospitals treating sexual assault victims to provide “emergency contraception” (a.k.a. the “morning after pill”), and requires that any contracts that the Health Benefits Commission enters into include abortion coverage! In addition, under New Jersey law, unborn children are not recognized as homicide or assault victims, and if a baby survives an abortion, there is no requirement that the baby be given medical care! 

Establishing pro-life laws is not rocket science! State-sponsored butchery of the innocent unborn must stop.

New Jersey should immediately:

• Pass parental notification and parental consent laws – Children can’t receive aspirin at school without a parent’s permission, yet they can undergo major surgery without a parent ever knowing!
• Stop using taxpayer money to fund abortion – Not only is this a blatant misuse of public Medicaid funds, but it is also a gross violation of the will of countless New Jerseyans who oppose public funding for abortion.
• Pass laws requiring that medical attention be provided to survivors of abortions – It is unconscionable that a newborn abortion survivor can legally be left literally to die because he or she is deemed unworthy of care!

Although the statement has almost become a cliché, in New Jersey it holds true that “The most dangerous place to be is in a mother’s womb.” 

Thirty-five years of butchery is thirty-five years too many. The time for change is long past. The lives of too many are at stake.

 

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