an american hero has recently been identified. baby roe. baby roe was the subject matter the us supreme court’s famous and contentious case, roe vs. wade. jane roe, baby roe’s mother, sought an abortion. as a result ms. roe’s request, a landmark decision was made. abortion was made law of the land. thanks to journalist joshua prager we all have the opportunity to have greater understanding of the real people involved with the litigation. he wrote a book on the topic. the family roe: an american story.
many people would assume that since jane roe won her case that her child had been aborted. this was not the case. perhaps due to the nature of lengthy litigation, the time had passed for an abortion. thus, baby roe was born, she exists, and she has a life. mr. prager’s article covers a significant amount of material about her.
baby roe was adopted by a loving family. ruth schmidt and billy thornton named her shelley lynn.
her life has not been so easy life. she, like a lot of adopted children, struggled with her identity. she moved through life. she went to high school, had a boyfriend and “rocked” in her jordache jeans. she eventually got married and started a family. she has three children. atlantic
baby roe is a great american hero. she is a life force that would not be stopped. she defied the groups who sought to end her life. she defied a legal community pushing for abortion rights. she defied the most powerful court in the united states which, in effect, condemned her to die. she defied all of them by having a life of value and meaning. she is a true hero for all who believe that each and every human should have the right and opportunity to pursue a good and fulfilling life.
i suspect that the roe court justices understood that they were not going to make a solomonic decision concerning baby roe. they perhaps understood that that the roe baby’s life would be spared due to the lengthy litigation. thus, unlike solomon, they never raised the sword and with the willingness to destroy a human being. instead, they left that legacy to others to fulfill.
whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, it doesn’t matter. infanticide is a reality that humanity has confronted. the torah specifically addressed it in two monumental occasions. god’s prevention of abraham from sacrificing his son isaac marked the prohibition against child sacrifice on a religious basis. the pharaoh’s edict to terminate hebrew baby boys in the story of exodus documented political infanticide. infanticide was enacted to curtail the hebrew’s population growth. they were perceived as a threat to ruling stability. moses was famously the baby boy who was spared of this death sentence by his adoption by the pharaoh’s daughter. the current abortion rights issue in the world is a mix of politics, religion, and one’s control over one’s body.
now that baby roe is known, perhaps the supreme court needs to act to make an acknowledgement. the chief justice of the supreme court should write a personal letter on behalf of the court to express to ms. shelley lynn her life has meaning. they should express to her that her life is just as valuable and meaningful as any other us citizen.
to shelley lynn and her family, i wish you and your family all the best that life can offer. may you and your family continue to have have a wonderful and meaningful life.
be well!!
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