The Law of the Land

"This was an issue that I had to face when I was campaigning 25 years ago. I have always been against abortion; it's not possible for me in my own concept of Christ to believe that Jesus would favor abortion. But at the same time, I have supported the Supreme Court ruling of our country as the law of the land. And the present arrangement, whereby a woman is authorized to have an abortion in the first trimester of the pregnancy, or when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest -- these are the things that moderates who have beliefs like mine can accept as the present circumstances in our country. The liberality of abortion is anointed by the laws of our country, including the ultimate ruling of the Supreme Court. " Jimmy Carter

Other people have said the same thing. Many people claiming to be "against" abortion also argue for the respect of the law of the land. I was watching an interview with Representative Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tennessee) on Hardball with Chris Matthews, and he said something similar to what Carter said above.

This is what I have to say...It's about time! Its time that we finally respect what the established law of the land is. For too long, we have simply been changing the established law for our own moral reasons, with devastating consequences. I am glad we are finally learning from our mistakes.

Slavery was the law of the land for over 100 years. Ever since the formation of the union, many states affirmed the right of a person to own slaves. The Supreme Court affirmed that a black man was nothing but property. Many people let their Christian convictions get in the way of their respect for the law of the land, what the Supreme Court had decided on in several instances. If only they could have been more moderate in their beliefs, but they had to stick their nose in the rights of other people to own a slave! Then, Lincoln decided to totally disregard the law of the land through the Emancipation Proclamation!

There are other horrendous instances where the law of the land has been completely disregarded when it comes to how one person treats another person. Women's suffrage totally turned the Constitution upside down! The Civil Rights Act in the 1960s totally disregarded the law of the land.

I'm so glad that people today are more sensible, respecting what the Supreme Court has already decided and putting their Christian convictions on how one person should treat another on a lower tier than the law of the land.