Family Restoration Means Protection of Life

Many states are considering how to protect life in their jurisdiction, and some are looking to do so in their state constitutions. Alabama’s highest court has solidified that position according to that state’s constitution. Today, Friday, February 17^th, the Alabama Supreme Court released a unanimous opinion that defends and confirms the Court's extension of Wrongful Death Actions for the unborn from the point of viability back to the point of conception in Mack v. Carmack, WL 3963006 (Ala. Sept. 9, 2011). Footnote 3 on page 13 provides a basis for the unborn to be included in the right to life provision in the Alabama Constitution. Read the entire opinion here.

The special writing of Justice Tom Parker, joined by three other justices, begins at page 22, discussing the limits and foundational weaknesses of Roe v. Wade and some of the misunderstandings that have appeared in court decisions about the effect of Roe. This special writing may serve to embolden other judges around the country in applying jurisprudence that promotes family restoration by protecting life.

Thoughtful constitutional jurisprudence leads to new conclusions about the national debate surrounding abortion and Roe. Many argue that had the life issue been a part of earlier American history, the truth would have been clear. See this article on the likely position of President Lincoln, at the American Thinker blog by Joseph Kohm at http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/02/would_abraham_lincoln_be_pro-life.html . Early women’s rights supporters were clear on the life issue also. See Colleen M. Holmes and Lynne Marie Kohm, The Rise and Fall of Women’s Rights: Have Sexuality and Reproductive Freedom Forfeited Victory? 6 William & Mary Journal of Women and Law 381, (Winter 2000), available at SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2007200.

Thoughtful men and women of faith understand the connection between life and liberty, and that connection revolves around faith freedoms. Last week’s National Prayer Breakfast featured key note speaker Eric Metaxas, whose speech remarked on these issues. It can be found (at about the 34 minute mark) at http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/NationalPrayerBreak. Some of these aspects are also discussed in Lynne Marie Kohm, Diane Chandler, Doris Gomez, Christianity, Feminism, and the Paradox of Female Happiness , Trinity Law Review (February 8, 2012), also available at SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2001387 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2001387.

Family restoration means protection of human life. Whether in cases of wrongful death, gender equality or human value, life is sacred at all stages and degrees. Jurisprudence in judicial opinions, scholarly blogs, legal publications and national speeches are reflecting those ethics. Protecting life restores families.