Correcting the Record: Get Equipped to Respond to False Abortion Claims

NRB | July 14, 2022 | Advocacy, Advocacy News

As the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opens a new chapter for the pro-life movement, NRB members are leading the way in Christian communications for the new pro-life era.

At NRB’s 2022 convention in Nashville, Tennessee, the NRB Board of Directors approved a resolution renewing NRB’s position of affirming the right to life, stating:

“Whereas human life bears the image of God and, therefore, has intrinsic value and dignity (Genesis 1:27; 1 Corinthians 11:7a). Moreover, human life begins at conception—as Scripture tells us, ‘You knit me together in my mother’s womb,’—and every person is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ by Him (Psalm 139:13-16).”

As the battle for life advances on the state level, information warfare remains intense. When inaccurate or false information about abortion law, procedures, and the pro-life movement gains traction online and in the media, here are some ways Christian communicators can respond to common, false claims—adapted from resources by NRB members Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and Life Issues Institute, as well as Live Action, an NRB 2021 Convention sponsor and contributor.

False Claim: “The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson is a violation of separation of church and state.”

The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause says that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” If there is no law being made, there is no violation of the Establishment Clause.
The Supreme Court did not pass a law in its Dobbs decision.
Further, it is not unconstitutional for a law to parallel a principle of religious tradition.
Michael Farris, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), discussed this issue in a recent NRB webinar.

False Claim: “Abortion is a constitutional right.”

The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and cannot be used to justify the destruction of human life.
The Court’s original decision in Roe v. Wade exceeded its constitutional authority by substituting the policy preferences of its members for those expressed in laws enacted by the people’s elected representatives. The judiciary’s role is to determine if the law being challenged infringes on a constitutionally protected right, not to establish new laws.
Abortion is not a constitutional right, but a civil rights violation. Over 63 million lives have been lost to abortions in the United States since Roe v. Wade.
“America had a pro-life policy in place and abortion was illegal in 1868 at the time of the adoption of the 14^thAmendment,” Michael Farris of ADF shared in a recent NRB webinar.
To claim that the 14^th Amendment includes a right to abortion, even though it was banned during the writing of the amendment, is what Farris calls a “reasoning that cannot stand scrutiny over time.”
Abortion silences and oppresses the voices of unborn children—a defenseless and silent minority. The Constitution preserves fundamental human rights. Abortion strips the vulnerable of those equal rights, granting one person unconstitutional ownership of another person’s life.
Nicole Hunt of Focus on the Family in a recent NRB webinar: “The Roe court… stepped out of their lane when their job is to interpret the law. The legislature makes the law, the judicial [branch] interprets the law, and the executive branch carries out the law. What they did in Roe was they decided they would be the legislators, they would be the policymakers, and they would decide what would be the best policy moving forward. This is unconstitutional. Those rights should be reserved to the people and their elected legislators and that was restored when the Dobbs decision came down. The powers are now equaled out again and the Supreme Court doesn’t have the only say over what abortion policy is in America.”

False Claim: “Planned Parenthood is a crucial healthcare resource.”

Planned Parenthood takes advantage of women, ignores their physical and mental trauma, participates in criminal activity, and advocates for a culture of death.
Planned Parenthood fails to report the sexual abuse of young women.
There are 13,540 health care clinics and rural health centers that are better options than the 600 Planned Parenthood facilities.
Planned Parenthood disregards the safety of women and children.
Unlike Planned Parenthood, pregnancy resource centers provide expecting mothers and new mothers with care during and after pregnancy. In one year alone, pregnancy centers have offered $270 million in free services.

False Claim: “A pregnancy is not a person until birth.”

The majority of abortions involve the direct dismemberment of a living, unborn child.
An unborn child can feel pain in the womb and respond to noxious stimulation by sixteen weeks after conception.
A late-term abortion takes the life of an unborn child that has unique fingerprints, pain receptors, taste buds, dreams, and a heart-beat.
The United States is an outlier on late-term abortion. The United States is one of only eight countries that permits elective abortions after 20 weeks and one of only six countries that allows abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
Scripture teaches that human life is created “in the image of God,” that humans are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” (Psalm 139:14) and that “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)