Cheryl Roller's Testimony

Before the Senate Judicial Committee

February 19, 2009

One of the tragedies of Roes v. Wade is that it made all of us complicit in a lie. For 36 years, American law has failed to uphold the foundational truth that every human life has value, advancing the deception that the lives of the unborn are expendable—if someone more powerful makes that choice. This lie, like all lies, has consequences: Prisons are filled with people who asserted their wills over the rights of others. Every instance of abuse--domestic, substance, of oneself or of others--every instance of abuse reveals a lack of respect for the dignity of the human person. Certainly, not every social problem is directly related to abortion, but it is not difficult to see the underlying connection. If a baby in his mother's womb is not safe and protected, then no crime should surprise us.

Some people defend Roe v. Wade by saying that women have always had abortions, so it is better if abortion is legal. Well, that opinion rests on another lie, that legalization makes an action right. Our country's experience with slavery and civil rights taught us that "legal" does not equal "moral." In fact, Martin Luther King said that an unjust law is no law at all ("Letter from Birmingham Jail"). Truth will win eventually--it always does. It is time for Americans to get on the side of truth, to examine honestly the laws that permit the killing of the unborn. Montana's legislature can lead the way by passing SB406.