Before assessing what the future holds for abortion in this country after the historic reversal of Roe v. Wade, let’s give thanks to almighty God for the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 24 overturning this ill-conceived law that has resulted in the loss of more than 60 million unborn babies in 49 years.
A ruling so long in the making shows what a grassroots movement can accomplish through faith, patience and persistence. So many have waited for a day that they thought would never arrive, and so many who worked so hard for so long never lived to witness this moment.
Make no mistake: The faithful from every corner of this land are responsible for this happening. So many prayer warriors have offered rosaries in front of abortion clinics while others have remembered the unborn every day in their prayers at home.
Thousands of pregnancy centers were started during these many decades and staffed by volunteers to give expectant mothers an alternative to abortion. Ministries were developed to accompany these mothers and families who needed help, and scores of children were adopted into loving homes.
Sidewalk counselors talked to women and girls outside abortion clinics hoping they would choose life rather than make the regrettable decision to end their pregnancies. Some of the counselors and pro-life witnesses at these clinics risked being arrested – and many were taken into custody – for doing nothing more than peacefully trying to save lives.
Pro-life doctors, medical ethicists, biomedical engineers and scientists deserve special mention for developing and using technology that gives the public a clearer understanding of when a baby’s heartbeat is detected. As a result, states such as Ohio enacted laws that prevent abortion when a heartbeat is detected at about six weeks.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in its response to the court’s decision on abortion, emphasized the importance of the ruling while affirming the Church’s unwavering support to mothers in need and anyone facing an unexpected pregnancy.
The Diocese of Columbus is blessed with pregnancy resource centers and parish programs to help expectant mothers who need assistance. Their work with mothers-to-be, especially those faced with unexpected pregnancies, answers the false charges of the anti-life side that baselessly accuse pro-lifers of not caring about the children after they are born.
Many faith denominations have supported the pro-life cause, but none more so than the Catholic Church, which has consistently decried the killing of innocent life as a moral evil and the preeminent issue facing our world. Pope St. John Paul II called it the “culture of death.”
While the Catholic Church has maintained its strong stance against abortion, not every Catholic believes what the Church teaches. Some professed Catholics take the opposite view and believe that women have the so-called right to “choose.” The most prominent Catholics among the “pro-choice” are President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who leads Pelosi’s diocese, courageously instructed the Democrat not to present herself for Holy Communion when she is at home, not as a political statement or punishment but to protect her soul and the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist from the sin of unworthy reception of the Eucharist.
Not long after that, bishops in Colorado made a similar statement regarding abortion-supporting politicians in their state. The world desperately needs more bishops like them to help their flocks embrace the truth about life.
That leads us into the where-do-we-go-from-here part of the equation now that Roe v. Wade is history.
We’ve seen the news coverage the past few days of the often-vulgar protests from abortion supporters. Their actions and behavior indicate the stark contrast between the two sides in this unfortunate debate.
If you’ve relied on mainstream media for coverage, you have been hard-pressed to find any reporting – other than from conservative outlets – that is not dominated by the pro-abortion side.
If this column was being written for a mainstream media outlet, the words would be edited to say “anti-abortion” rather than “pro-life” and “fetus” rather than “baby.” And it’s not OK to say “pro-abortion.” Those are accepted Associated Press style rules in the world of journalism, and any editors who try to challenge these guidelines might have their keyboard taken away.
It’s quite sad and sickening to see people so angry about losing the right to kill someone. They seemingly will do anything now to fight for unlimited access to abortion, which is still going to be accessible both surgically in some states and also through abortion pills, which have become more widely used in recent years.
Going forward, the challenge will be to remain patient and calm and win over hearts of dissenters with love and not angry words. Easier said than done sometimes, but it’s what the pro-life movement has done for the past 49 years.
Legitimate questions have arisen about why Catholics make such a big deal out of abortion. Anyone who participated this spring in the Synod on Synodality conversations in the diocese probably heard more than one attendee argue that the Church shouldn’t focus so much on abortion and instead emphasize other issues.
Yes, the Church and the world face many problems – mass shootings, health crises, drug abuse, poverty, to name a few.
We don’t need to look further than the gut-wrenching shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in May that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. Some will ask, “Isn’t protecting schoolchildren more important than laws that save the lives of children in a mother’s womb?”
Here’s what Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio said about what happened in Uvalde, which is in his archdiocese:
“The cause is a society with a culture of death and with instruments that kill,” he said. “The person is discarded from conception to natural death. (But) in the Church, we say we must protect every human person.”
The United States took a huge step in that direction, but there’s more work to be done. Keep fighting the good fight.
