In America, we believe in rights. We believe in the right of free speech and the right to choose our own religion. We believe in the right of peaceable assembly and freedom of the press. And in Southern Missouri, a vast majority believe in another right B the right to life for the unborn.

There are some in the pro-choice movement who believed that the eventual decision in Roe v. Wade would "settle the debate once and for all." They were wrong. The decision had the opposite effect. Instead of quieting the masses, it ignited the masses and exposed the fact that abortion really does end a human life. Today, 30 years after the Roe v. Wade decision was first handed down, the ruling is a rallying cry for a community of men and women, young and old, dedicated to educating others that all of God=s creatures have the right to life.

 

Public opposition to the Roe v. Wade decision (and its companion case Doe v. Bolton) was strong and immediate. In its statement of January 24, 1973, the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Affairs said the decision was "bad morality, bad medicine and bad public policy" and called for its reversal. The National Right to Life Committee, which formally came into being months after the decision, began to unite state pro-life groups across the nation and gave rise to what is commonly referred to today as the "pro-life" community.

 

Today, the pro-life movement has grown in numbers and strength. Grassroots groups like the National Right to Life, the Susan B. Anthony List, People for Life and numerous other religious organizations have successfully fought for the passage of meaningful legislation aimed at reducing abortion. Likewise, Congress has passed important federal laws that remain on the books today, while defeating many efforts that threatened future unborn children.

 

Though Roe v. Wade has not been repealed, the efforts of the pro-life community to reach out and educate others has had some measurable and encouraging effects on our society. Studies indicate that the frequency of abortion is on the decline. There are new policies in place that promote adoption, and funding is available to assist crisis pregnancy centers across the nation. Most encouraging of all is that teenage pregnancy has dropped, in part because more teenagers are abstaining from sex, according to a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll.

 

Now, with new leadership in the Senate, we can take the next step toward becoming a more life affirming society. This year, with the help of pro-life members like Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent, we have more support to enact the pro-life policies which the U.S. House of Representatives has supported for a number of years. Those policies include banning Partial-Birth Abortion and supporting the Child Custody Protection Act, which would prevent transport of minor girls across state lines to evade parental involvement laws on abortion; the Unborn Victims of Violence Act to penalize the harming of unborn children during the commission of violent federal crimes; and, the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act to protect hospitals more effectively from forced involvement in abortion.

 

I believe we are on the threshold of change. Thirty years may have come and gone, but the pro-life movement has only grown stronger and more effective in its efforts to promote the right to life and change the misguided policies of the past. Working together one day and one battle at a time, we can, as Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde has said, "make it clear once again there is justice for all, even for the tiniest, most defenseless in this, our land."