With its 2022 decision in an abortion case from Mississippi, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the worst ruling in its history, Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy and across our nation.
Although Roe was reversed, the damage it caused can never be undone. More than 65 million babies have been killed in their mothers’ wombs and for every one of them who died, many people were damaged – mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, extended families, even abortion mill workers and pro-life activists.
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Legal child killing touches every segment of a society in which it is allowed. And the heartbreaking truth is that babies are still dying every day in places where the convenience of choice takes precedence over the right to life.
Several years ago, Priests for Life teamed up with the Christian Defense Coalition and Faith & Liberty to host a prayer service in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, to honor the lives of the babies lost to abortion and to pray for healing for all those wounded in its wake.
Beginning at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the service invites people of faith to share a prayer or reflection about these most innocent victims. At the conclusion of the service, 3,000 flowers will be spread out on the ground, representing the approximate number of babies killed each day before Dobbs.
When the March for Life was founded by attorney Nellie Gray in 1974, it was held specifically on the Roe anniversary as long as it fell on a weekday. While the date of the March now varies, it is still important to mark Jan. 22 as a day of mourning, just as we remember Dec. 7, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Sept. 11, the day of the terrorist attacks on our nation.
The United States Catholic Bishops have designated Jan. 22 as the “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.” Legal protections have been established in many states but more needs to be done. We will not give up the fight to end legal abortion until every baby is protected, no exceptions, no compromise, as Ms. Gray used to say.
But even when that day comes – and make no mistake, it will – it will still be up to us to remember those for whom legal protections were too little and too late.
Join us from noon to 2 p.m. on Jan. 22 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to mourn the babies lost to abortion and to pray for our nation.
LifeNews.com Note: Frank Pavone is national director of Priests for Life and the national pastoral director of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries and the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.
