THE QUESTION

Time to Overturn Roe v. Wade?

John McCain and Sarah Palin say it's time to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Do you agree? What is the right moral choice?

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Posted by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on September 24, 2008 3:35 AM
FROM THE PANEL

Time to Untangle Moral from Legal

The blithe conflation of abortion as a moral issue with abortion as a legal issue has led to a deadlock that stymies any real deliberation over this matter. It's time to separate the two. I have no interest in making abortion illegal; I would like to make it unthinkable.

Posted by Randall Balmer, on September 30, 2008 10:16 AM

The Government Should Leave Women Alone

If Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin had a plan to help the babies once they were born, a plan that virtually eliminated the suffering too many babies go through once they are here, then I might not be as adamant as I am about Roe V. Wade not being overturned

Posted by Susan K. Smith, on September 29, 2008 4:47 AM

A Clear Moral Choice

McCain and Palin are absolutely right. Roe v. Wade was bad law, made at a time when we did not have the scientific information we have now that life begins at conception. It should be revisited for that one point alone.

Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on September 29, 2008 3:19 AM

Nuanced and Morally Serious

If we really want to protect life, we need to let religious practice and moral reasoning lead us whenever possible.

Posted by William Tully, on September 29, 2008 2:46 AM

Basic Human Rights Not A Political Issue

I suggest we ask the question, "...after 30 years of legal, (and apparently) safe abortions, is our society any better or more enlightened because of it?"

Posted by Matt Maher, on September 28, 2008 12:19 PM

The Horrible Legacy of 'Roe v. Wade'

Roe is a compact with the Culture of Death. So long as it stands, America is the land of abortion on demand. Every pregnancy is a tentative pregnancy. Every fetus is in danger. Every American is complicit in this tragedy.

Posted by R. Albert Mohler Jr., on September 27, 2008 8:02 AM

A Woman's Life is a Human Life

If we ever again make abortion completely illegal, we will have established one religious view of when the human being becomes human, i.e. one religious view of ensoulment. This must be unconstitutional in a plain reading of the establishment clause.

Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on September 27, 2008 7:37 AM

Abortion: Single-Issue Voting is Immoral

I am deeply concerned about single-issue, anti-abortion voters. I consider them immoral. Why would anyone let the abortion issue determine one's vote? Bad religion, that's why.

Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on September 27, 2008 6:00 AM

Religious Ideology or Rule of Law?

To impose religious ideology on a pluralistic society would destroy the very basis upon which this nation was founded. Will any politician be this dumb and actually play with this fire? I doubt it, but if they were to do so it would mean that sectarian religion could now dictate public policy

Posted by John Shelby Spong, on September 27, 2008 5:41 AM

Guarantee Fetus Right to a Good Life

Government has a right to attack Roe v. Wade only when it guarantees that the fetus will have a quality education, adequate food and housing, quality healthcare, and a favorable community in which to advance.

Posted by Gardner Calvin Taylor, on September 26, 2008 9:01 AM

The Republicans And The Christian Right: They Want To Decide For Us All

Who cares if poor women are the ones who will have to pay the price for the heartless religious fanaticism of right-wing Republicans?

Posted by Susan Jacoby, on September 26, 2008 6:58 AM

Advance Liberty, Overturn Roe

Roe should be overturned because by judicial fiat it hallows killing the innocent as part of our Constitution. In a just society there can be no right to do evil. Not every evil should be illegal, but no evil action should be hallowed as a constitutional right.

Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on September 25, 2008 11:32 AM

Abortion Rights Pose a Multitude of Moral Dilemmas

My emotions and my conscience steadfastly reject abortion. It is quite clear that life begins at conception. There are cases, however, where abortion is called for, but where to draw the line quickly turns into a slippery slope, one where women's agency can become subsumed by well-meaning doctors or governmental regulation.

Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on September 25, 2008 10:00 AM

Abortion and the Goddess

Whatever our views on pregnancy and choice, we share a moral imperative to care for the living children around us, to safeguard their health and to assure them the opportunity to grow up and fulfill their purpose on a thriving, healthy planet.

Posted by Starhawk, on September 25, 2008 8:16 AM

Abortion: Rhetoric or Results

I think Roe v. Wade was a bad decision. It was bad law. It was a classic case of judicial activism. At the same time, to think that reversing Roe v. Wade will solve the abortion problem is naive. It will simply return the issue to the states and most states will keep abortion legal.

Posted by Thomas J. Reese, S.J., on September 24, 2008 8:21 AM

It's My Body And I'll Cut If I Want To

What we need are people who are willing to stop politicking abortion on either the left or the right. We need people who are willing to enact laws that reflect the collective wisdom of the American people, not the religious dogmas or the psychological dramas of small segments of the population.

Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on September 24, 2008 7:17 AM

When Gray Is the Only Color

At this point Roe v. Wade is rather like the plight of the Palestinians. Keeping the argument inflamed has more political value than solving it. Reversing Roe v. Wade would probably be neither a victory nor a defeat for either side.

Posted by Deepak Chopra, on September 24, 2008 5:28 AM

The Morality of Abortion

There can be nothing moral about abortion but there are times in one's life when one is called upon to make a choice that may go against the ethics of society. Abortion is one of those issues.

Posted by Arun Gandhi, on September 23, 2008 2:32 PM

FEATURED COMMENTS

Carstonio: "I know too many women who (repeatedly) use abortion as birth control." I suspect that nationwide, that is actually a small minority of wom...

COWENS99: A woman who is not in control of her body is a slave....

Tonio: The idea that overturning Roe v. Wade will magically do away with abortion is simply fantasy. One can oppose abortion on moral grounds while...

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