The American Constitution, Abortion, and the Unalienable Value of Human Life
When: Tonight (Monday 4/23/18) @ 7:00 p.m
Where: MSU Case Hall, 842 Chestnut Rd. East Lansing, MI
(James Madison College Library – Room 332)
In this presentation, Professor William Wagner first discusses the jurisprudential considerations in the debate over the judicially-created “right” to personal autonomy – and how this judicially-manufactured “right” authorizes a physician to abort a mother’s unborn son or daughter. He then explains what the Court says the right to abortion is, while analyzing the test the Court employs to determine whether a government restriction on abortion violates the judicially-created right. Here he reviews a variety of government regulatory actions designed to protect the both the unborn child and his/her mother.
During the presentation, Professor Wagner explains the Judeo-Christian worldview underlying Constitutional protections afforded to human life. He then reviews how the U.S. Supreme Court sometimes employs a different worldview to selectively deny such protection. After looking at the Court’s decisions concerning slavery, abortion, and forced sterilization, the jurisprudential relevance of this contemporary worldview shift in US culture and society become alarmingly clear. Prof. Wagner closes by calling for compassionate creative solutions grounded in Christ-like love.