Roe v Wade Pandora’s Box of Interjurisdictional Troubles

Which brings me now to the final word I want to offer and why I began this sidebar on abortion and the New Covenant world at the outset.  It’s not going to be as simple as turning back the clock.  It’s not going to be as simple as going to a state that has laws as you believe.  There will be interstate complications of a national interest.  Interjurisdictional issues that will be for lawyers and lawmakers to resolve. 

Christians must be prepared to offer a Gospel solution…with neither freedom at the expense of life … nor life at the expense of freedom.  We must be prepared, not to take up arms in the looming “abortion wars”, but to speak peace and redemption.

Roe v Wade, for all the bad policy it is, and for all the damage it has done to our culture, it did serve one positive purpose.  By finding in the Commerce Clause a “right” to abortion and nationalizing it, Roe v Wade served as a lock on a Pandora’s Box of Interjurisdictional Troubles.

To be sure, that was never enough good to make bad policy into good.  When it is overturned which will happen eventually as the science and technology surrounding childbirth catch up with the law, we must be prepared for what comes next.

Christians must be able to speak the New Covenant’s grace
into the coming abortion wars and political chaos.
We are called to be peacemakers.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:9-18

I will raise these issues as questions with the understanding that I don’t have the answers.  But we need to think about them and be prepared to address the issues that Roe’s imperfect thinking kept in a Pandora’s box.  Issues of State vs. State.  Person vs. State.  Commerce vs. State.  Healthcare vs. State.  Insurance vs. State. 

They’re not insurmountable or without some degree of parallel
(such as interjurisdictional issues with marijuana legalization and drinking age
and physician assisted suicide, etc.).
In fact, the parallels ought to give us hope
that the abortion wars won’t end in mutual destruction.

What if a woman crosses state lines to get an abortion?  Which state’s laws apply and is it based upon residency or where the service is performed?  How does insurance pay for it as healthcare if the employer or healthcare insurer are located in a state where abortion is not legal but are willing to pay for it in a state where it is?  Will there be financial penalties for a company’s assisting a woman across state lines?  With a national insurer, how will medical reimbursement work?  What about national corporations with locations in numerous states with different laws?  Can a physician offering abortion services be prosecuted for doing legal work in their home state if it’s illegal in another?  What about licensure or professional credentialing by national organizations?

These are among the many questions which will need to be addressed state by state.  It can be done as other interjurisdictional issues have been without nationalizing a solution. 

Thank you for hearing me out.  I know this topic is a hard one.  Let’s be prayerful and peacemakers and show the way of grace that leads straight to the Gospel in a New Covenant world.

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The Series on Roe v. Wade includes:
Http://seminarygal.com/ruminations-on-roe-v-wade
Http://seminarygal.com/life-and-freedom-as-old-as-eden
Http://seminarygal.com/freedom-at-the-expense-of-life
Http://seminarygal.com/no-doomsday-future
Http://seminarygal.com/no-consequence-chauvinism-of-abortion
Http://seminarygal.com/life-at-the-expense-of-the-gospel
Http://seminarygal.com/roe-v-wade-pandoras-box-of-interjurisdictional-troubles