On Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a law stating that frozen embryos shall now be considered children, marking another drastic step toward the decline of women’s rights in America.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 set in motion a chain reaction of anti-abortion laws and movements, and a decline in access to reproductive health across the nation. This ruling has sparked a debate on the separation of church and state when it comes to reproductive rights, especially due to the prevalence of evangelical Christian views used in the court of law.
This trend in pro-life laws has swept the nation since 2022—the operation is now illegal in 14 states and heavily restricted in six, and the topic is inevitably going to be a huge area of contention in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. I have noticed a trend in wording surrounding abortion debates, in which medical procedures, fetuses, and children seem to be separated from actual people, those who are already living and have to find a way to deal with pregnancy.
There are so many buzzwords surrounding the abortion debate, all of which relate to the growth and development of an unborn child, but rarely is the story of the person who has to carry it as explosive to the public. In all of these debates, the body of the woman is prioritized over the woman herself.
Utilizing more than just legal precedent, the court’s Chief Justice Tom Parker drew on his Christian faith to assert his passion in passing this law. Justice Parker, prior to the Alabama ruling, has stated multiple times that he believes America’s “original government” was based on the Bible. The danger behind his rhetoric lies within its power to influence other politicians and people in power.
With the platform Justice Parker has, judges in other states who have banned or heavily restricted abortion could begin to push for further restrictive abortion laws on the basis of religion and Christian theology. For many, it is a growing sentiment that America is beginning to feel far more conservative, and far less safe than it has in previous years.
Justice Tom Parker is just one voice among thousands of politicians and lawmakers who oppose abortion on the grounds of religion, most being white Republican men who share a similar evangelical sentiment against reproductive rights.
It is the potential of this child that matters to these politicians who so vehemently oppose abortion, rather than the child itself. Empathy is reserved for those who can do no harm, the argument of “innocent” lives being taken away is so highly appealing to these people, especially when it comes to the debate of the morality of abortion, because it gives them a trendy outlet to push their moral Christian facade.
With every new ruling against the rights of women, it becomes glaringly apparent to me that a potential life means more to our government than the people who are already here in the flesh. The people who go about their days, living, breathing, working, smiling, and loving, mean less than an unborn embryo. The life of a mother whose pregnancy could turn fatal, the future of a college girl who missed a few days worth of birth control, or the wellbeing of the children who float around in our foster care system, all matter less to those in power who push their religion as the basis of their opposition, than the supposed “life” of a frozen embryo.
