ACLU imposes will over Arizona

The ACLU has managed to snatch victory and life from babes in the womb, just hours after a judge upheld the legality of an abortion restriction law in Arizona. The ACLU claims the law represented an illegal ban.

PHOENIX, AZ (Catholic Online) - Just yesterday morning, a judge upheld a law that would have prevented abortions of children after just 20 weeks of pregnancy with some exceptions. The verdict was hailed as a great victory for life. But the anti-life lobby was relentless and supported by the ACLU, they filed an immediate appeal. 

The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals took the case and blocked the law from taking effect while arguments are prepared. 

Now an unprecedented time of prayer and support must begin if Arizona is to protect their unborn children to the extent permitted by current law. 

The ACLU originally contended that the law represented an illegal ban on abortion, but advocates of the law deftly dispatched this argument by explaining that the law was a reasonable restriction, not a ban. Federal Judge, James A. Teilborg, agreed and upheld the law as reasonable and constitutional. 

Now the ACLU is attacking the law on the grounds that the term of pregnancy is counted from the time of the last menstrual period, and therefore the law could restrict abortions in pregnancies that are only 18 weeks along. 

This method of determining the time of pregnancy is standard medical practice, but it matters because the case of Planned Parenthood vs. Casey established that no law can be passed which restricts abortion until a child is viable outside of the womb. A child becomes viable in the period between 20-22 weeks, which means the law would infringe on the limits set by the Casey decision.

The ACLU continues to command rhetoric over the law, referring to it as an "extreme abortion ban." Nothing could be further from the truth, which reveals the level of doublespeak and misinformation the organization will go to keep abortion mills in business. 

Fortunately, the ACLU hasn't won yet. The case will be picked up in October and a ruling will be made. In the meantime, a number of other pro-life states have already implemented similar laws, which have survived challenge, or are preparing to enact them.

Such laws may not be a cure for what ails the nation, but they do help. For now, abortion remains legal, but laws that protect both mother and child are worthwhile, even if they can only come in baby steps.

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