A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties by Ben Carson MD, Candy Carson

important to the founders of our nation? Perhaps it was because they came from countries where human life was not cherished by those in power. Historically, monarchs in many cases could simply order someone executed, and the victim would have no recourse. People could be forced into servitude and the fruits of their labor confiscated, again with no recourse. On the other hand, we in the United States have typically placed a high premium on human life and gone to extraordinary lengths to save and preserve it.
    There was a time in America when great celebrations surrounded the news of a pregnancy, because it was assumed that this was the beginning of a new life. Pregnancy represented continuity of a family legacy and continuation of the species, not to mention a new citizen for our young nation. In our more recent history, we have fallen away from standing up for life.
    Now many in our society want to redefine the beginning of life and allow the termination of fetal human beings who have no recourse. The head of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) once told me that it was his belief that a woman had a right to kill a baby until the second it was born. As you know, the ACLU claims to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I would think that that would include fully formed babies that have not yet been born but are hours away from a normal live birth.
    Since life was such an important issue for the founders of our nation, it might be worthwhile to invest more thought in the subject of when it begins. Many of the same people who gladly sanction abortion on demand go to great lengths to preserve the habitats of endangered creatures that are considerably less sophisticated than a nineteen-week-old human fetus. And a fetus even younger than that can react to environmental stimuli and has a brain that is developing at a rate of 400 million neurons per day. Within a couple of months of conception, a fetus already has well-developed fingers and toes, as well as facial features and a body that is distinctly human. Although some will continue to insist that this represents nothing more than a meaningless clump of cells, few can stand to look at a video of an abortion where the head is ripped off and the body dismembered.
    Abortion always has been and probably always will be an emotional issue. The Supreme Court of the United States tried to put it to rest with its 1973 ruling on the case of
Roe v. Wade
, using section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which says, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This so-called due process clause of the amendment was interpreted by the Supreme Court to mean that a woman’s right to have an abortion and to privacy was protected. From another perspective it could have been argued that the right of the fetus to live was protected by the same clause.
    Currently the Supreme Court has ruled that the fetus is a living human being if it is capable of survival outside of the womb, even with medical support. The age at which this viability test precludes abortion is a moving target as advances in neonatal medicine take place.
    Judicial rulings are highly subjective and depend largely on the political makeup of the court. This may seem unfair to those who do not like or agree with the rulings, but over the course of time the thrust of the various rulings seems to even out because the makeup of the court tends to change. There is hope that the Supreme Court may one day rule differently on abortion, but it would make more sense for the Court to allow states to decide the matter for themselves.
    One of the real beauties of having fifty different state governments is that almost everyone can find a place of happiness where the people