The ‘Roe’ of Marriage

Before Roe v. Wade in 1973, no one could have predicted that the Supreme Court would effectively create a national regime of abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy. The ruling was simply more sweeping and more extreme than anyone had expected.

But what if we had a crystal ball and a time machine and could travel back to 1972? What would we do if we could see Roe looming on the horizon? What would we do to prevent such a disastrous ruling? What would we do to minimize the harm that it would cause? And what plans would we put in place to make our response to Roe, if it were handed down anyway, more constructive?

About the Author

Ryan T. Anderson

Ryan T. Anderson is the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the founding editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey, and the author of When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment (Encounter Books, 2018).

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Before Roe v. Wade in 1973, no one could have predicted that the Supreme Court would effectively create a national regime of abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy. The ruling was simply more sweeping and more extreme than anyone had expected.

But what if we had a crystal ball and a time machine and could travel back to 1972? What would we do if we could see Roe looming on the horizon? What would we do to prevent such a disastrous ruling? What would we do to minimize the harm that it would cause? And what plans would we put in place to make our response to Roe, if it were handed down anyway, more constructive?

About the Author

Ryan T. Anderson

Ryan T. Anderson is the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the founding editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey, and the author of When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment (Encounter Books, 2018).