The culture war may be lost, but the Resistance continues the fight

It has been common among conservatives for several years now to say that the culture war is over and that we have lost. The "Benedict Option-" the idea of Christians and others who share traditional Judeo-Christian ethical values partially withdrawing from society and creating within it a subculture which keeps the flame burning much as St. Benedict's monastic order did a millennium ago- is gaining favor, especially given the degree to which so many conservative Catholics and Evangelicals have had their moral compasses broken by Donald Trump and ceased thereby to be credible representatives of traditional Christian ethics.

But the battle goes on in some circles. One of those circles is the Iowa Legislature, which has passed and sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds a bill banning most abortions (exceptions would be made in some cases of rape and incest, and when the mother's life is in danger) after a heartbeat is detectable, which is usually at about six weeks. Opponents of the bill point out that women can always lie about how far along their pregnancy has gone. The logical incoherence of Roe v. Wade makes it difficult to predict in any legal sense, but realistically I find it unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court would sustain the law.

The highest principle of constitutional law in America is, after all, the zeitgeist; the document itself is merely a piece of paper containing the outmoded ideas of a bunch of dead white guys.

Gov. Reynolds is strongly pro-life, and will undoubtedly sign the bill. Thus will begin a legal battle which I pray will be successful but expect not to be. Still, it's important that the sanctity of human life continues to be asserted in the face of our ethically shallow culture's continuing determination to cheapen it and to treat people as disposable in every way possible. So even if the Court shoots down what will soon become "the Heartbeat Law," I'm gratified that even though we may have lost the culture war a guerrilla effort continues to be waged by the forces of decency.

ADDENDUM: Gov. Reynolds has signed the bill into law.