The states are not free, under the guise of protecting maternal

“The states are not free, under the guise of protecting maternal health or potential life, to intimidate women into continuing pregnancies.” – Justice Harry A. Blackmun

In the long march of civilization, there are moments when the voice of justice rises above the noise of power, speaking not only to the present but to the ages. So spoke Justice Harry A. Blackmun, in the midst of the storm that was Roe v. Wade, a decision that forever altered the moral and legal landscape of the modern world. His words were not cast in rebellion, but in reverence for freedom—that sacred right of every soul to govern its own body, its own destiny, its own life. In his wisdom, he declared that no state, no authority cloaked in law, may use the veil of virtue or protection to intimidate women, to coerce them into paths not of their choosing.

From the ancient days of empire to the halls of modern courts, rulers have often sought to command both the body and the conscience. The ancients warned that when the state grows too mighty, it begins to imagine itself the master of life itself. Yet freedom—true freedom—must include sovereignty over the self, the body, and the choices that shape one’s destiny. Justice Blackmun saw in the plight of women a mirror of all humanity’s struggle: the eternal contest between liberty and control, between compassion and coercion. His voice was that of the philosopher-judge, reminding us that law without empathy becomes tyranny draped in robes of righteousness.

Consider the women of centuries past, who bore the weight of silence and shame. In secret they made choices that the world condemned but never understood. In the dim light of fear, they acted not from selfishness, but from the primal cry of autonomy—the will to live as a full being, not as a vessel of another’s command. History remembers not their names, yet it is upon their courage that freedom was built. For every right won in law was first claimed in suffering, first whispered in defiance by those who refused to be intimidated by the powers that sought to rule their bodies.

Justice Blackmun, steeped in the wisdom of both heart and mind, spoke at a time when the world was awakening to the voice of women long suppressed. His judgment was not a call to recklessness, but a recognition of dignity. He saw that the claim of “protecting maternal health or potential life” could, in unguarded hands, become a weapon against the very people it pretended to protect. In his decision lay a truth as old as civilization itself: that the measure of justice is not in how it rules the strong, but how it guards the vulnerable from the pretense of moral authority.

We see this lesson echoed in every age. When reformers rose against kings, when slaves defied their masters, when the oppressed cried for the right to speak, it was always under the same banner: Freedom cannot exist without choice. Even when society’s voice trembles with the conviction of its beliefs, it must never drown out the quiet voice of the individual heart. For liberty is not the chorus of the many—it is the sacred right of each to sing their own song.

Therefore, let the wise remember: laws that intimidate are not laws of justice, but instruments of fear. The state that claims to protect by domination becomes the tyrant it fears to name. To defend freedom, one must first defend the right to decide, even when that decision is difficult, even when it defies the comfort of convention. The heart of democracy beats strongest not in conformity, but in compassion—in the courage to trust each soul with its own path.

So let this truth be passed to future generations: Freedom over one’s body is the foundation of all other freedoms. Without it, liberty is illusion; with it, humanity ascends. If we would honor justice, we must protect the dignity of choice, not by coercion but by understanding, not by fear but by respect. And when we hear voices that seek to control in the name of protection, we must remember the wisdom of Blackmun’s words—that true protection empowers, it does not intimidate.

Thus, may we stand as guardians not of power, but of conscience, ensuring that the flame of self-determination burns bright for all who seek to live as free and sovereign beings beneath the sky.