Grim Reaping — Do You Really Know Roe?
By J. Matt Barber

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the term “September 11^th” almost instantly became a household phrase.  It represents a day of great tragedy and outrage wherein over 3,000 people were murdered at the hands of Islamic extremists who chose to callously sacrifice innocent human life to further a narrow and selfish political agenda. 

But another date, January 22, which is not so well-known, signifies an equally outrageous and solemn occasion.  January 22, 2008, marks the 35^th anniversary of what is, unquestionably, one of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most highly controversial and divisive rulings in its 200-plus year history  — Roe v. Wade. 

The Roe decision, authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, found for the first time that the U.S. Constitution somehow guaranteed the phantom “right” for a mother to have the innocent child which grew within her summarily killed.         

Since that time, what seems an endless string of misguided women and innocent children have been victimized by this much more subtle, yet equally deadly form of politically motivated violence.  And those to blame are, once again, extremists with an almost religious zeal who callously “choose” to sacrifice innocent human life to further a narrow and selfish political agenda. 

It’s not at all surprising that what public support there is for Roe v. Wade is typically rooted in a lack of knowledge.  Ignorance is bliss, and blissful ignorance relative to Roe is by design.  It’s intentionally fueled through obfuscation and disinformation, fostered by pro-abortion activists and other like-minded leftists.  Polls show conclusively that the more people learn about Roe v. Wade, the less likely they are to support it. 

And so, in an effort to help educate the public about Roe, members from a coalition of pro-family organizations are asking America the following question: “Do you really know Roe?” 

Concerned Women for America (CWA), Focus on the Family, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Research Council have designed a Web site with a brief online questionnaire to test your knowledge about Roe v. Wade.  It’s a Roe IQ test, and it can be taken in a few short minutes at RoeIQTest.com.

We’ve all heard the Biblical admonition, “A man reaps what he sows.”  With Roe, we have reaped a culture of death.  The human toll Roe has taken is unfathomable and will only increase until people take the time to learn the truth about this convoluted and lethal ruling.   

The number of those slaughtered as a direct result of Roe far exceeds that of Americans killed in all U.S. wars combined. Yet, in this war — the war for our culture — it is innocent children whose bodies are strewn across the battle field, buried — unceremoniously — in mass graves behind the local Planned Parenthood.

Although we think of 1973 — the year Roe was decided — as relatively modern, there remained, even then, a raging debate over when life begins.  To abortion proponents, the pre-born child was merely a “lifeless blob” or a “nonviable mass of tissue” that could be done away with at any time prior to birth without moral or legal implications. 

To the pro-life side, human life begins at the moment of conception with all the associated legal and civil rights of personhood attached.

The Roe Court sided with the pro-abortionists. 

But since that time, science and technology have proven pro-lifers right and the Roe Court wrong.  Addressing that reality, CWA President Wendy Wright noted, “Technology and testimonies have splintered support for abortion, paving the way for more protection for women and unborn children.

“Advances in technology, particularly 3D and 4D ultrasound, provide a window into the womb, a picture that this is indeed a human being, not — as many abortion clinics tell unsuspecting women — a ‘blob of tissue.’  Whereas Roe claimed we do not know when life begins, ultrasounds show that it is clearly before birth.” 

History has a way of repeating itself.  The Roe decision was not the first time the U.S. Supreme Court has so disgraced our nation.  Roe v. Wade  represents the twin bookend to the Court’s shameful 1857 Dred Scott decision.  In Dred Scott the Court absurdly held that African American slaves, even if emancipated, were not fully persons and therefore could never be considered U.S. citizens.  Likewise, Roe ruled that children in gestation are not fully persons and are therefore not entitled to their most basic civil right … life. 

As with Dred Scott, Roe’s fate is inevitable.  It’s just a matter of time.  History will eventually judge Roe v. Wade every bit as harshly as it judged Dred Scott.  But until that time, innocent children continue to die on a daily basis. 

Knowledge is power, and as more people gain knowledge about Roe v. Wade, the less power the multi-billion dollar abortion industry maintains.  Make no mistake — they’ll do anything and everything to keep that from happening.          

But their ghoulish zeal betrays their true agenda.  By any reasonable measure the 35^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is nothing to celebrate.  It is a national day of mourning.  The post-Roe highway is awash with the blood of countless innocents.  And those who have lead these little lambs to the slaughter are responsible. 

Even so, this will not stop the mainstream media, radical feminists and other pro-abortion Kool-Aid guzzlers on the left from celebrating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  They’ll break out the streamers and party hats and dance gleefully around the golden calf of euphemistic “choice.” 

But power is there for the taking. 

Please visit RoeIQTest.com before January, 22 and answer the question, “Do you really know Roe,” for yourself.  Then, when you see the left celebrating Roe v. Wade and the culture of death it has spawned, you can rest assured that you refused to stay in the dark.  You refused to remain powerless. 

After all … isn’t it your choice?    

Matt Barber is one of the "like-minded men" with Concerned Women for America. He is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law and serves as CWA's policy director for cultural issues.

By Matt Barber Click here for bio and archived articles