{"id":199851,"date":"2019-04-12T10:57:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T15:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=199851"},"modified":"2019-04-10T00:28:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T05:28:16","slug":"abortion-beginning-unravel-society-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-beginning-unravel-society-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"Is abortion ‘beginning to unravel’ in our society? One professor says yes."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amid the onslaught of <\/span>pro-abortion challenges to pro-life state initiatives<\/span><\/a>, abortion advocacy groups pushing <\/span>extreme abortion laws<\/span><\/a> in states around the country, and <\/span>daily pro-abortion propaganda<\/span><\/a> on social media, pro-lifers sometimes understandably question whether any progress is being made in the 46 years since Roe v. Wade<\/em>. We might ask, along with Professor Karen Swallow in a <\/span>recent Vox piece<\/span><\/a>, \u201cWhat will it take to disentangle the sexual, familial, economic, and political threads of legal elective abortion that have become so tightly woven into our cultural fabric?\u201d Yet Dr. Swallow, whose article is titled \u201cAbortion will be considered unthinkable 50 years from now,\u201d responds to her own question, saying, \u201cI think we are beginning to see that unraveling now.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether or not the pro-life cause is making major progress, Dr. Swallow\u2019s article raises several points to consider as we carry on the fight for life.<\/span><\/p>\n

#1: Major social changes come in more a subtle manner, and sometimes faster, than many realize.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Dr. Swallow points out, major social change can come subtly, unexpectedly, and quickly: \u201cThe eradication of abortion may be difficult to imagine. But consider how difficult it would have been for our grandparents to foresee a culture in which nearly one in four women has an abortion by age 45.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Even if we are not on the cusp of pro-life victory, there is plenty of evidence already that positive pro-life changes happen subtly and unpredictably. Many of the most pro-life presidents — including <\/span>Reagan<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Trump<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Bush-41<\/span><\/a> \u00a0— supported legalized abortion before becoming pro-life advocates during their respective tenures as president. Former abortionists like <\/span>Dr. Bernard Nathanson<\/span><\/a> and\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Anthony Levatino<\/span><\/a> became two of the most outspoken pro-life activists raising awareness about the horrors of abortion. The lies and evils of major abortion industry players <\/span>continue to be exposed by organizations like Live Action<\/span><\/a> and made known to millions thanks to modern technological advances.<\/span><\/p>\n

#2: The humanity of the preborn child is harder and harder to deny.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Dr. Swallow points out, \u201cEvery age has its blinders, constructed, usually, through a combination of ignorance and self-interest.\u201d With any hope, these blinders give way to progress in which the truth is vindicated — usually so thoroughly that later generations, like ours looking back on legalized slavery, barely comprehend such an offensive idea. Dr. Swallow argues that major advances in prenatal science and medicine since Roe v. Wade<\/em> have made the humanity of the preborn baby, even in the first trimester, increasingly irrefutable:<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the first trimester is over (when the vast majority of abortions are performed), a tiny fetus the size of a fig kicks her feet, yawns, sucks her thumb, and demonstrates her left- or right-handedness. Her heartbeat and brain waves are detectable just a few weeks after conception. Clearly, such beings are human \u2014 and all human rights begin with the right to life.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The <\/span>amazing progress of prenatal science<\/span><\/a> has been reflected in various state efforts to protect preborn babies with science-based legislation like heartbeat laws and pain-capable abortion bans.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0First trimester babies aren\u2019t blobs of tissue \u2014 they\u2019re amazingly complex<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n