South Dakota and the right to life

Recent developments in the United States should be of great interest to those of a pro-life persuasion. The state legistlature of South Dakota has just passed into law, requiring only the signature of the state's governor, to effectively ban abortion in that state. It is clear that such a policy has the design of provoking the Supreme Court into making decisions that could possibly overturn the landmark decision in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, giving a woman the right to 'privicy' under the consitution.

George W. Bush made the comment, before becoming President in 2000, that before Roe could be overturned, American hearts needed to be changed. By this he was saying that before there can be full and absolute protection under the law for the unborn, there needs to be a concentration on prevention, and the discouragement of the termination of pregnancies. I believe this to be the right approach to the issue and that simple prohibitions are not adequate to meet the needs of women in difficult situations. A pro-active, pro-life approach to the abortion question should be one based on compassion, both for the unborn and the woman in question, and such care can be faciliated through civil organisations that are there to help and support. This forms a great part of the solution to the problem of abortion that, in my view, should not be ignored.