|
Visiting
professor addresses future prospects for the Pro-Life Movement
By Shelly Lutton '05
On Jan. 20, Villanovans for Life sponsored the
lecture Roe v. Wade: Future Prospects for the Pro-Life Movement,
presented by M. Cathleen Kaveny, the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of
Law and professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Many gathered
in the Connelly Center to listen to Kaveny discuss the 1973 U.S. Supreme
Court decision which found the right to abortion is protected by the U.S.
Constitution.
 The
Court held that a woman's right to an abortion fell within the right to
privacy and therefore is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The outcome
of Roe v. Wade gives a woman total autonomy over the pregnancy throughout
the first trimester and defines various levels of state interest during the
second and third trimesters. This decision led to the development of two
very different philosophies about abortion: pro-choice, which agrees with
the law, and pro-life, who is very much against it.
Kaveny used rather unusual imagery when discussing
the current debate over abortion: she compared the two different
philosophies to life back in the Wild West. She explained that pro-choice
advocates view abortion laws as fences around their property; these fences
are meant to keep public matters out, and private matters in. Things that
occur within the fence are of personal jurisdiction, while those that occur
outside the fence belong to public jurisdiction. In this scenario, one’s
body is the property, or the private domain, and therefore personal
jurisdiction is called for. Thus, according to this philosophy, as long as
abortion takes place within one’s private domain, no one has the power to
prevent that action or take that right away.
Kaveny continued, explaining that pro-life advocates
feel very differently about abortion laws. They believe that the laws should
be more relaxed, actively guiding a person rather than fencing them in or
confining them to a particular lifestyle. In terms of the Wild West,
pro-life advocates view the laws not as a fence, but instead as a marshal
who protects and serves the citizens, particularly the innocent. In this
scenario, the laws should play an active role, encouraging people to deal
with a problem when it arises rather than acting as a preventative measure.
According to this philosophy, abortions would no longer be necessary, as the
problems associated with the child would be dealt with after s/he is born.
Many students and professors expressed their own
opinions about the abortion controversy. Dr. Joseph Dellapenna, a professor
at the Villanova Law School, commented on the lecture, stating that Kaveny
was “thoughtful and interesting… and politically realistic. She was not
optimistic about changing the outcome of Roe v. Wade, but instead suggested
that we work on less people wanting abortions rather than prohibiting them.”
Dellapenna continued, saying that he believes there will never be an
amendment to the Constitution concerning abortion until it is no longer a
controversial issue. Students reacted favorably to Kaveny’s lecture as well,
and many could be heard discussing her thoughts and ideas long after the
lecture had ended.
Kaveny’s
lecture was just one of the many activities included in Pro-Life Week.
Villanovans for Life also provided an educational table display in the
Connelly Center throughout the week, and provided transportation to
Washington, D.C. for those students interested in attending the March for
Life on Jan. 24. |
|
