Mother Attacked, India Downplays Religious Persecution & Misperceptions of Roe v. Wade

A young Christian mother was attacked after a mob of Hindu radical nationalists last month bombarded her home with the intent of forcing her and her pastor husband to close their church in Rajasthan state.

The woman, mother of a four-week-old, was hospitalized with serious head injuries, according to the human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC). Her husband said he had received death threats since starting the church five years ago.

In Uttar Pradesh state, as many as 30 Christians were imprisoned in May on charges of forced conversion, ICC reported.

Eleven of India’s states have anti-conversion laws that are often used falsely against Christians, but the Indian government has downplayed a U.S. report on religious persecution in India.

On June 2 the U.S. Department of State released a report on international religious freedom violations such as those against minorities in India. Subsequently, an official with India’s Ministry of External Affairs downplayed the U.S. statements as biased, ICC said.

India is No. 10 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.

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As Americans think through the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission believes there are some misperceptions that must be addressed.

Misperception #1: The Supreme Court took away a constitutional right.

There was never a “constitutional right to abortion,” only a legal fiction established by Roe and Casey to give that impression. The Supreme Court did not remove a right held by individuals but merely recognized the reality that the Constitution allows abortion to be an issue decided by the individual states.

Misperception #2: Overturning Roe makes it harder to treat miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

“There is no current policy in place prohibiting the treatment of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancies, and many laws similarly exclude such circumstances from the definition of abortion,” says Chelsea Sobolik.

Misperception #3: Anti-abortion laws do not protect the life of the mother.

Misperception #4: The individual states now have final say about abortion laws.

Nothing in the Dobbs opinion prohibits the U.S. Congress from passing federal legislation to restrict, ban, or allow abortion.