At the first March for Life in 1974, Nellie Gray set out with one immediate goal: to protest until the Supreme Court’s erroneous and devastating decision in Roe v. Wade was overturned. Fifty years later, we are overjoyed that the Supreme Court has done just that, and that the people once again have a say in regulating abortion through their elected representatives.
Many people have since asked me - so what do we do now?
Their question is natural, but it misses the deeper goals behind our movement. Yes, overturning Roe, which allowed abortion on demand up until birth and paid for by taxpayers, has always been the necessary first step. But the elimination of Roe is clearly not a final victory.
Just look at what is happening lately in Washington, D.C. Pro-abortion politicians are working overtime to pass some of the most radical abortion expansion bills in American history.
In mid-July, the U.S. House passed the deceptively named Women’s Health Protection Act (219-210), which would go way beyond the abortion extremism permitted under Roe. This Act would nullify pro-life laws in states across the country, including limits on painful late term abortions, parental consent laws, and bans on abortions that involve discrimination against babies with Down Syndrome or babies who happen to be the “wrong” sex. It is horrific and shocking that 219 U.S. representatives voted in favor of this bill.
The House also recently passed what is deceivingly called the Right to Contraception Act, which seeks to use federal funds to support the abortion industry and could prevent all commonsense regulation of chemical abortion. Adding insult to injury, this bill explicitly excludes the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, thereby eliminating the rights of doctors and others to opt out of participating in the delivery of drugs and devices to which they have an ethical or religious objection.
Last but not least, the House also recently passed what pro-abortion politicians call the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which will likely prevent common sense regulation of chemical abortions by mail and could shield abortionists from civil and criminal liability in these cases. The bill could also be used to shield child abusers and sexual abusers who transport women or girls across state lines for abortions from civil and criminal liability.
In tandem with these many aggressive
Warren, along with Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, has also demanded that the White House convert federal lands such as national parks into abortion centers as a way of circumventing democratically passed state laws limiting the procedure.
These desperate and unrelenting efforts by the pro-abortion left show that they have no intention of abandoning the battlefield at the federal level – we cannot afford to do so either. Unchecked, this extremism could turn us back to pre-Dobbs abortion policy, and worse.
So, where do we go now in post Roe America?
We are still called to open hearts and minds to the beauty of life and reject the violence of abortion. That's why our work now is just beginning. We will continue marching in Washington, D.C. and in the states to advocate for pro-life legislation more so than ever before now that the ability to protect the unborn has returned to the American people.
All of our legislators must continue to see our witness and hear our voices calling on them to vote in favor of life.