“I should have been aborted” A Liberty student’s reflection on Roe’s demise
We have entered a new chapter of American history, a time when the culture of death, which has led to the deaths of over 63 million children since 1973, has begun its transition into a culture of life.
On June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States voted 5-4 in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade. The overturning of Roe equates to a state-first policy approach to abortion, allowing individual states to set laws regarding its legality and level of restriction. As of the writing of this article, there are now 22 states that have enacted or have pending legislation that restrict or ban abortion.
In the Dobbs majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito called the Roe decision “egregiously wrong from the start” — a position that every serious Christian should share. As Christians, we believe scripture reflects how God creates each individual person in his own image and intentionally killing innocent life infringes upon God’s commands.
Abortion violates the laws of our Creator, and it should break our hearts just as much as it breaks His.
The day the Court released the Dobbs decision was a special day for me. I had the immense privilege of being on the ground at the Supreme Court when the decision dropped. It was a surreal experience getting to witness and participate in the celebration that broke out on the pro-life side.
At 10:10 a.m., the moment the decision was officially released, a single voice yelled, “They dropped Dobbs.” Silence fell over the entire crowd before we all scrambled to see what the opinion said. After what seemed like an eternity, the pro-life crowd exploded into celebration as we realized that after almost 50 years of work, Roe had finally fallen.
The moment pointed to a victory for the whole pro-life movement, but I also had my own personal reasons to celebrate the decision.
My own life story highly influences my views on abortion. I was originally born in Tomsk, Russia, a town in the region of Siberia. I was adopted from that area when I was 5 months old. The circumstances of my birth and life in Russia are mostly unknown to me due to the closed nature of my adoption, but I do know some details.
Not much is known about my birth mother, but what my family does know — or at least, we think we know — is that she was an 18-year-old woman who already had an infant daughter when she had me. There was no father in the picture, and it is possible she may not have known who my father was. The town of my birth was an old, run-down coal mining town, meaning that my birth family most likely lived in poverty.
I was born with serious health problems. I had a blockage in my upper airway that would restrict my breathing — something that happened several times — causing me to stop breathing during extreme episodes. With Russian healthcare, specifically in the area I was born into, the problems would be impossible to treat.
Since the overturn of Roe, I have heard the very circumstances I was born into used as pro-abortion justification. Proponents of abortion list problems like my health issues as reasons why taxpayer-funded abortion on demand up until the moment of birth should continue. After hearing stories like mine used ad nauseum to justify abortion, I decided it was time to share my story.
On June 29, I recorded a short video and shared it on the social media app TikTok. I uploaded the video around 11 p.m. and went to sleep, not expecting it to be seen by many people. The next morning, I opened the app to thousands of views and likes, blown away at the reach this single video managed to gain.
The comments on the video have been highly encouraging to see. The vast majority were supportive, saying they were glad I was alive and was able to share my story. Many others also shared similar stories to mine in the comments.
Others, however, were still trying to advocate for the pro-abortion side. They argued that while it was “good” I was alive, it was my mother’s choice that I’m here, and every woman should have the choice to terminate their baby. A few did go as far as to say I should have been aborted.
Those comments show the true beliefs of pro-choice advocates. They believe my life didn’t have value, but I believe that your circumstances do not define your value.
Abortion is completely and utterly abhorrent and should be viewed as a tragedy and a disgrace to every Christian. The overturning of Roe should be a cause for celebration. For the first time in my life, I live in a country where abortion on demand is no longer federal law.
But there is still much work left to do.
The pro-life movement cannot stop until we live in a country where abortion is considered completely and utterly unthinkable, and with enough hard work, we will get there. I am proud to fight in this movement, and I look forward to the future.
But for now, I celebrate this tremendous victory, and I am proud to be part of the post-Roe generation.
Jesse Hughes is a contributor for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter @jhughes1776