EDITOR’S NOTE: This article includes reporting by Baptist Press writer Tom Strode and Pathway associate editor Benjamin Hawkins.
JEFFERSON CITY – On June 24, Missouri Baptist leaders praised God and urged churches to vigilance after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 high court decision that resulted in the deaths of more than 60 million preborn children.
In response to the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation ending elective abortions in the state of Missouri.
Missouri Baptist leaders respond to ruling
“Roe has been overturned. Praise God,” Missouri Baptist Convention President Jon Nelson, pastor of SOMA Community Church, Jefferson City, said. “Now we enter a new phase in the struggle for life. Now the real work begins ….
“As the decisions over the legality of abortion return to the states, some states will ban abortion or severely limit it and some states will work with abortion providers to make it even more accessible,” he added. “We have to keep showing up to help support women in our communities with unplanned pregnancies and continue supporting pregnancy help centers. …
“This issue has always been an opportunity for mercy ministry, evangelism and discipleship, and the time is now for us to step in to care for these parents, to help them choose life while advocating for it on every level of government. If not us, then who?”
In a statement released, June 24, MBC Executive Director John Yeats wrote, “This is a monumental victory for children and people with a Christian worldview, and it warrants celebration.” He added, “Missouri Baptists, we need to be prepared to defend the sanctity of life at all times. It is our biblical responsibility.” To read his complete statement, click here.
Susan Klein, executive director for Missouri Right to Life and member of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Holts Summit, said, “Today, we thank God! What a historic day in history. Many have waited and prayed for this day and today, June 24, 2022, our prayers, and work, have been answered. Today we celebrate and then tomorrow we go back to work in a new era of protecting babies and women from the deceptions of the abortion industry.
“While Roe is gone, our work continues,” Klein added. “The decision to protect unborn babies and help women in difficult situations as they carry their precious baby to term comes back to our State. God has truly blessed and answered our prayers today.”
Mike Whitehead, the MBC’s legal counsel and a church member at Fellowship Greenwood, said, “The decision today vindicates the view that words matter. The text of the Constitution matters. We are grateful to judges like (the late) Antonin Scalia and others who have fought tirelessly for the rule of law and a textual interpretation of our Constitution.
“Pro-abortion forces will not give up on pressing for a federal right to abortion, perhaps by statute, perhaps by constitutional amendment,” he said. “The price of freedom will be eternal vigilance against these tactics.
“But for now, the battle for life moves to state capitols. We must continue to work to elect pro-life leaders and textualist judges. As always, we need America’s pulpits to be aflame with the gospel and with the truth that the unborn are image bearers of God, ‘persons’ with equal dignity and worth to those already born. And, as always, we must be the hands and feet of Jesus, loving and caring for each one: baby, mother and father.”
‘Roe was egregiously wrong from the start’
In their 5-4 opinion, the high court overruled the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that struck down all state abortion bans and legalized the procedure throughout the country. The justices also invalidated the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion that affirmed Roe.
The opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – a case regarding Mississippi’s prohibition of the abortion of preborn children whose gestational age is more than 15 weeks – returns policy decisions on the issue to the states and marks a long-sought-for victory for the pro-life movement.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s opinion. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any” provision in the Constitution.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito wrote. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Joining Alito in the majority opinion were associate justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a concurring opinion in support of the Mississippi law but not agreeing with the reversal of Roe. Joining in dissent were Associate Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
It is estimated more than 63 million abortions have occurred since the Roe decision, the National Right to Life Committee reported in January of this year.
Missouri governor ends elective abortion
Soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. Mike Parson signed a proclamation giving legal effect to Section 188.017 RSMo and activating the “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act.”
“Nothing in the text, history or tradition of the United States Constitution gave un-elected federal judges authority to regulate abortion. We are happy that the U.S. Supreme Court has corrected this error and returned power to the people and the states to make these decisions,” Parson, a member of First Baptist Church, Bolivar, said.
“With Roe v. Wade overturned and statutory triggers provided in HB 126, we are issuing this proclamation to restore our state authority to regulate abortion and protect life. Thanks to decades of conservative leaders, Missouri has become one of the most pro-life states in the nation, and our Administration has always fought for the life of every unborn child. Today, our efforts have produced what generations of Missourians have worked and prayed for: Today, we have won our fight to protect innocent life,” Parson continued.
Gov. Parson’s proclamation notifies the Missouri Revisor of Statutes of the effective date of Section 188.017 RSMo.
Section 188.017, or the “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act,” includes several provisions:
• Prohibits doctors from performing abortions unless there is a medical emergency;
• Creates criminal liability for any person who knowingly performs or induces a non-medical emergency abortion and subjects his or her professional license to suspension; and
• Protects any woman who receives an illegal abortion from being prosecuted in violation of the Act.
The “Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act” was included in HB 126 and was contingent upon the U.S. Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade in whole or in part. Governor Parson signed HB 126 in 2019. The bill was applauded at that time by Missouri Baptists and other pro-life leaders across the state and nation.
Governor Parson’s administration is coordinating with the Missouri Attorney General to quickly resolve any litigation against HB 126 before the Courts that is currently preventing implementation of the law.