Maria Gallagher: So much wrong with abortion 'right'

We as Americans take our rights very seriously. The right to free speech. The right to freedom of religion. The right to peaceable assembly.

But, there is so much wrong with the so-called “right” to an abortion. As we mark the anniversary of the Jan. 22, 1973, U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, it is a good time to reflect on the tragic aftermath of that fateful decision.

To begin with, each abortion ends an innocent, unrepeatable human life. It is an act of killing a defenseless human being. There is nothing right, and everything wrong, with that.

In addition, the image of a woman freely and independently exercising a “right” to abortion is deeply flawed. Research shows that, much of the time, women are pressured into abortion by a boyfriend, husband, parent or even grandparent. In other words, they are making a choice they don’t want. A study also indicated that the majority of women who experience difficulties after abortion would have chosen life if just one person had supported giving birth to the child — just one!

Consider the heartbreaking testimony of the women of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (www. SilentNoMoreAwareness.org). These are courageous women who have publicly proclaimed that they regret their abortions, in the hope that other women will not repeat their tragic decisions.

These women include Kathleen from Illinois, whose testimony is titled “Vulnerable and Alone.” Kathleen states, “After the abortion, I spiraled out of control with drugs and alcohol, anything to numb the pain and reality of what I had done.”

Donna from Pennsylvania writes: “Time went by. I was a busy mom. I had to stuff all those feelings. I had no time to figure out what was wrong with me. But I still had that dark cloud hanging over me. Here I had a husband and two very beautiful children, and I still felt like something was missing.” The “something missing” was a someone — her preborn child.

The so-called “right” to abortion also completely ignores the rights of fathers. Under Roe v. Wade, a father’s right to defend the life of his child is stolen away. How many men are suffering in silence today, grieving the loss of a child they very much wanted?

Our society has suffered greatly from the loss of the more than 60 million preborn children who have died under Roe. We’ve lost doctors and diplomats, social studies teachers and scientists, and all manner of other people from legalized abortion.

A so-called “right” to abortion appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. It was invented by a group of men on the U.S. Supreme Court who did not have access to the 4D ultrasound we have today — technology that clearly shows the development of the preborn child.

For the sake of our nation and our posterity, the so-called “right” to an abortion cannot stand. It will fall under the weight of its own hypocrisy.

Maria Gallagher is legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation (www.paprolife.org), a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life and restoring legal protection for preborn children.