On January 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a presidential proclamation, declaring January 22 to be National Sanctity of Human Life Day. January 22, 1973 marks the date on which the infamous Roe v. Wade decision was handed down. Recently the 446th tragic anniversary of Roe v. Wade. An estimated over 60 million innocent lives have been lost since the decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973.
This year, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law legalizing late-term abortions up until birth.
The bill was purposefully signed into law on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand for every state within the nation. However, the legislation is even more far reaching and dangerous than Roe v. Wade. The would allow late term abortions and would even allow people who are not doctors to perform them. Worse yet, the bill attempts to give the appearance of limiting late term abortions, but includes a very broad “health” exception for abortions after 24 weeks. The exception would allow women to have an abortion for up to nine months of pregnancy for “age, economic, social and emotional factors, rather than the biological definition of ‘health’ that normally comes to mind,” according to New York Right to Life.
After signing the bill into law, Governor Cuomo bragged that New York was now “the most aggressive women’s equality platform in the nation.” In a press release, Governor Cuomo also stated:
“Today we are taking a giant step forward in the hard-fought battle to ensure a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her own personal health, including the ability to access an abortion. With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body.”
What a heartless, callous statement. Think of the devastating consequences of Roe v. Wade. There are fathers who never had the privilege of a first dance with their daughters. There are dads who never got to teach their sons to spell words or swing a hammer.. There are mothers who never had the joy of hugging their sons, or washing their cuts and bruises after they scrape a knee. There are moms who never had the joy of having tea or “dress up” with their girls. There are sons who never got the chance to cuddle their brand new baby sister. There are daughters who never got to teach their baby brother to ride a bike. There are grandparents who never got to go shopping with their grandkids. There are grandpas who never got to teach their grandsons and granddaughters to catch a fish.
Currently, the United States is one of only a handful of nations in the world where it is legal to kill your child throughout all 9 months of pregnancy, even up until birth. How tragic that the United States – a country recognized as the leader of the free world – is on that list. It’s a cause for grief that it’s necessary to even have a designated Sanctity of Human Life Day, but Governor Andrew Cuomo’s actions making New York the eighth state to legalize late-term abortion illustrate the still very real need for the observance of this day.
