by Bob Sullivan
The Jan, 21 March for Life in Washington D.C., marked the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which is certain to go down in history as one of the worst, and certainly the deadliest Supreme Court decisions in the history of our country.
I don’t plan on going ever again, not because it isn’t a powerful experience. It is a very powerful experience to physically stand among hundreds of thousands of other Americans who are showing up for one purpose. Nor is my decision based on frustration or hopelessness. In fact, it is just the opposite. Participating in the annual March for Life is extremely satisfying and hopeful, especially when you see how young most of the participants are.
No, I do not plan on attending the March for Life which marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade because I don’t think it will actually be held. I am hopeful and expectant that this June will mark the end of Roe v. Wade and the beginning of the new legal recognition that the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights do not grant any American a “right” to an abortion.
Instead of marking anniversaries for Roe v. Wade, pro-life advocates will need to change our calendars to celebrate the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which should overturn Roe v. Wade, and hand the legal authority to legislate abortion back to the states. Instead of marching in the cold and often snowy or slushy January weather, we will have to begin celebrating in the hot and humid June weather of our nation’s capital.
This year was the fourth time I attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. In recent years, there have been years with more than 500,000 marchers, but some have estimated this year’s turnout to be 150,000 to 200,000. While this year’s turnout was the smallest I had seen, probably because of the pandemic restrictions, most of the students on the pilgrimage said they were impressed with the number of people marching.
Also, the mood was a little more upbeat and hopeful than past years. This is likely due to the optimism pro-lifers have after hearing the oral arguments of Dobbs v. Jackson. It is as though the spell of Roe v. Wade is wearing off, revealing a Supreme Court which finally understands that abortion is not a constitutional right.
While laws and government restriction are desired by many pro-life advocates, the real battle is much larger and quite different. The only way to truly save
lives and souls is to win the hearts and minds of individual Americans. In reality, if we can help people understand that abortion is not only immoral, it is unnecessary, we won’t need laws and court decisions to save the lives of the innocent and defenseless. Instead, parents, grandparents, siblings, doctors, and nurses will do that by not encouraging, pressuring, or allowing abortion.
While I remain hopeful and optimistic that this will be the last year we marched in opposition to Roe v. Wade, I also know that we can’t sit back and bask in the glory should the Supreme Court issue a ruling which overturns Roe v. Wade. When that happens, our focus must turn from national to local. Unfortunately, Nebraska repealed all of its abortion restrictions after Roe v. Wade became the “law of the land.” This means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Nebraska will have to enact new pro-life laws which protect the unborn and those mothers who will be pressured or tricked into seeking an abortion. While one might think that it would be easy to pass pro-life laws in a state with as many pro-life voters as Nebraska, this actually isn’t the case.
Nebraska’s legislature (the Unicameral) consists of 49 state senators and a bill becomes a law with as few as a majority of “yes” votes in the Unicameral (25 votes). However, it only takes 18 votes to prevent a bill from ever reaching a vote because a bill cannot come to a vote until at least 33 senators agree that it is time to vote on a bill. In other words, 18 senators can effectively filibuster morally conservative bills and prevent them from becoming law. This is how a super-minority of 18 state senators have kept a lot of pro-life bills from becoming law in Nebraska over the years.
Therefore, smart voters can make a big difference in upcoming elections by making sure that no pro-life voter ever votes for a candidate who is either an abortion supporter or who refuses to clearly state whether or not they are pro-life or pro-abortion. If a candidate for public office in Nebraska declines to state whether they support abortion or not, you can be assured that they either support abortion, or they are so ill-informed that they think the majority of the state’s population supports abortion.
But all that is the secular aspect of the battle. As pro-life Christians, we know that most of the battle has been spiritual for the last 49 years, and it will continue to be spiritual until the second coming. We also know that there is an intellectual battle. Therefore, we need to continue to pray, fast, and share the truth with those around us. If we engage in the spiritual and intellectual battles, it won’t matter what the Courts and legislators do, because fewer and fewer people will support abortion.
Part of this political, spiritual, and intellectual battle is simply showing up to things like marches and walks, such as the annual Mass this Saturday, Jan. 29, at 9 a.m. at St. Mary Church at 1420 K St. in Lincoln, which is followed by Nebraska’s annual Walk for Life.
