In 1973, the Supreme Court abortion decision in the case of Roe v. Wade violated the right of pro-life states to protect the lives of pre-born children. In the forty-nine years since Roe, over sixty-three million babies have been murdered by abortion. The time has come for the State of Louisiana to protect the lives of preborn children and Defy Roe!

I have asked State Representative Danny McCormick to author HB 344, officially known as the “Roe v. Wade Is Unconstitutional Act.” The purpose of this legislation is “to exercise the sovereign authority of this state, consistent with the Constitution of the United States, to declare and treat as void the opinions and judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States in Roe v. Wade and its judicial progeny.” As one of the most pro-life states in America, Louisiana will lead the way to protect all preborn children, without exception, from the moment of conception.

Some may think it is impossible to defy a ruling of the Supreme Court, but history demonstrates otherwise. In 1857, Dred Scott v. Sanford ruled that slaves who had escaped to free states were not entitled to their freedom and that African Americans could never be US citizens. The Supreme Court was wrong, and states such as Massachusetts and New York defied the ruling by refusing to return escaped slaves to their owners in slave states. In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that Jim Crow laws were constitutional even though black Americans were treated as second-class citizens. Again, the Supreme Court was wrong, so MLK and the Civil Rights Movement defied this unjust ruling.

Slavery and segregation were abolished in defiance of unjust rulings from the Supreme Court. We will not abolish abortion in Louisiana until we have the courage to follow this example and Defy Roe. If Louisiana can defy the federal government by legalizing medical marijuana, then why can’t we have the courage to Defy Roe and save 8,000 babies who are aborted every year in our state?

I am urging all pro-life Louisianans to ask their State Representative and State Senator to vote for HB 344. Then, sign the petition to Defy Roe at www.life4la.com. Lastly, I invite you to join me at the End Abortion Now Rally on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol on April 30^th at 10am. Together, we will end abortion in Louisiana!

Pastor Brian Gunter
First Baptist Church of Livingston, LA