Richard Stith

About the author: Richard Stith is a professor of law at Valparaiso University. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies as well as a law degree from Yale University.

The Supreme Court's 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade, legalized elective abortion until viability and abortion to protect the life of the mother after viability. The Court's decision mandates that the fetus has no inner nature until birth, which suggests that an entity's inner nature depends upon where the entity is located. In 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the legality of abortion, but also awarded moderate rights to the fetus, as reflected in mandatory waiting periods, informed consent, and parental involvement laws. However, the Casey decision relied primarily on the precedent set by Roe —that the difference between abortion and infanticide depends upon...