In last week’s Herald, Pepperdine law professor Douglas Kmiec expressed the grief that many, both Catholics and others, have felt in the wake of the death of First Things founder and editor, Father Richard John Neuhaus (Marching for Life into the arms of Our Lord, ACH 1/15/09). Kmiec’s column about Fr. Neuhaus, however, went beyond the usual scope of an obituary or tribute, and touched upon several matters which merit further discussion.

Professor Kmiec asserted, quite correctly, that the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was “mistaken constitutional law.” Clearly, it is a legal precedent that is wrong, and must be changed. While the perfect scenario would be to see, in its place, the right to life written indelibly into our constitutional law, that scenario is highly unlikely in the short term. Instead, the initial effect of a reversal of Roe would be to restore to the American people the freedom to determine on a state-by-state basis (through their elected representatives) whether abortion should be legal.

While each state would represent only one step on the road to complete recognition of the right to life, the practical and moral impact of these steps should not be minimized. Each state that abolished abortion would represent thousands of lives saved, and also a further legal recognition of the dignity of every human life.

We must remember, as Fr. Neuhaus pointed out, that the law has a teaching function as well as a coercive one. Roe’s elevation of abortion to the status of a constitutional “right” has given it a wholly unjustified moral cachet, and has made the task of changing hearts and minds far more difficult. In the absence of Roe, the individual actions of each state would create a growing moral momentum in the pro-life direction.

I also would suggest that instead of speaking of an “Obama approach” or a “Father Neuhaus approach” to the abortion issue, we all should instead be concerned with “the pro-life approach,” which seeks legal protection for unborn children as well as practical care for women facing crisis pregnancies. This is not an “either/or” matter; one can advocate both for social policies that may reduce the number of abortions and for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. While we must continue to work to aid women who see abortion as their only option — through Gabriel Project, for example — the mere reduction of abortions can never be the real goal. The end of abortion is the only goal. As the Church teaches, the unjust killing of even one innocent and defenseless human life in the womb remains intrinsically evil.

President Obama has expressed support for greater care for women whose social or economic situations might tempt them to seek an abortion, and that is all to the good. However, his past statements and voting record indicate that he has not adopted a complete “both/and” pro-life viewpoint. Consider, for example:

— his statement that he “will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President” and will “oppose any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling in this case;”

— his co-sponsorship of, and promise of support for, the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA);

— his strongly-worded disagreement with the Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal law banning partial-birth abortions; and

— his voting record in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois State Senate, which included votes against legislation to protect born-alive survivors of abortions and against a prohibition on taking minors across state lines to circumvent state parental notification laws.

The art of governing is different from the art of campaigning, and the moral, political and practical forces that act upon a President differ from those affecting a legislator. Catholics may yet hope that President Obama will chart a different course with respect to the right to life than did Senator Obama or Candidate Obama. And certainly, we must pray for his success in the years ahead in dealing with the myriad issues that have now landed squarely on his shoulders.

Meanwhile, we must continue to battle for life step by step because, rooted in our Baptismal consecration, is the privilege and responsibility to be a “people of life and for life, and this is how we present ourselves to everyone” (Evangelium Vitae, n. 78) clearly, proudly and unhesitatingly every day.