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Abortion and Slavery

Did you know that the 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court rulings that legalized abortion on demand marked a second time in American history that the Court denied personhood status to human beings?

In 1857, the United States Supreme Court ruled slaves were the property of their masters with no more human rights than a piece of furniture. The ruling stemmed from a suit filed by Dred Scott, a slave taken to the free state of Missouri by his master. Scott contended that since he was in a state that did not allow slavery he should be freed. The Court did not agree and sided with the slaveowner.

Chief Justice Roger Taney stated in his majority opinion, “..it is the opinion of the court that the act of Congress which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind [slaves]in the territory of the United States north of the line therein mentioned, is not warranted by the Constitution, and is therefore void; and that neither Dred Scott himself, nor any of his family, were made free by being carried into this territory; even if they had been carried there by the owner, with the intention of becoming a permanent resident.”

“The right of property in a slave,” Taney continued, “is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the Constitution.”

Likewise Roe v. Wade bestowed upon the unborn the status of being the property of their mothers to do with as they choose, including abortion up to the ninth month of pregnancy. Ironically, both the Dred Scott and Roe decisions were decided by a 7-2 majority.

What's the big deal about human embryos?