On Monday I had the opportunity to attend a rally outside the Supreme Court building with my fellow YAF interns to support the pro-life movement in what’s being billed as, “the most important abortion case since Casey v. Planned Parenthood.”
This case would uphold a Texas law that requires abortion facilities to keep up with certain safety standards. One such standard is that the physician would have to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility. Another would require that the building comply with the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers.
President of Students for Life, Kristan Hawkins, explained:
“We know abortion is never safe for a child, but when it comes to making abortion safe for women, it’s always the pro-abortion industry, Planned Parenthood, that doesn’t really care and doesn’t want to put up the money to make sure their centers and other abortion facilities are the same as other outpatient surgery centers.”
Clare McKinney, YAF activist and strong pro-life advocate at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame told The New Guard, “Honestly I think it kind of shows the lack of humanity on the opposing side, because this court case isn’t necessarily saying we are banning all abortion or we don’t want abortion to be legal. It’s simply saying we understand that abortion is legal, and we just want to make sure it’s as safe as possible.”
During the event, several protestors from the pro-choice movement began to arrive. Chanting, “What do we want? Women’s health care! When do we want it? Now!” Signs held by the protestors included everything from “Everyone Deserves Access to Safe Abortion Care” to “Keep Abortion Safe and Legal.”
YAF activist Viraktep Ath expressed his concerns to The New Guard, remarking, “I have a very bad feeling that future generations of Americans are going to reflect back at this time period and look at how barbaric we are to be killing our own children.”
Ath concluded, “Those advocating for abortion will be on the wrong side of history. I guarantee it. ”
