A few weeks ago, someone asked me why we are still holding the Roe Remembrance this January. After all, it is cold.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade (which legalized abortion nationwide) in June 2022. Ohioans adopted the even more barbaric Issue 1 on Nov. 7, 2023, enshrining abortion through all nine months in the state constitution.
It is a fair question, and one that both I and the leaders of Greater Columbus Right to Life and many other pro-life organizations have asked ourselves.
To be sure, there might be good cause to reconsider programming vis a vis time and schedules. With time, you will probably see shifts at the local level and nationally. That is OK.
The truth is that while it has gone by different names and forms during the years – marches, protests, rallies and eventually the Roe Remembrance of today – we gather each year on or near Jan. 22 (the anniversary of the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling) with the same purpose: to protest peacefully the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade; to provide a local option for those who cannot attend the Washington March for Life or who would like to attend both; to memorialize unborn children who have died as victims of legalized abortion; to educate the community about abortion alternatives, reversal and healing; and to gather the pro-life faithful together in prayer and solidarity to prepare for the year ahead.
All of these reasons are still important today. One might even say that they are more important than ever.
Roe altered the very fabric of our society. It abruptly ripped apart moral and legal norms – a decision that ignored both the standards of science and jurisprudence in search of a political result.
Then it started the cultural and civil rot and decay. It has attempted to unravel the family and shatter the dignity of the human person.
So, yes, we will continue to hold the Roe Remembrance, but that is not all we will do.
We will continue our works to intervene on the sidewalks and provide prayerful and peaceful options to women who would like to make another choice. We will continue to engage individuals, families and churches in programs like 40 Days for Life and Faithful at the End of Life, and through our work we will continue to challenge the culture to stand for life. Most importantly, we will continue to invite everyone to join us in that mission.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Greater Columbus Right to Life. It is tempting to be a bit discouraged that after decades of work we are once again facing a legal structure where abortion is legal through all of pregnancy and even basic protections for mothers have been (or soon will be) completely wiped out. That is not how I imagined we’d be marking this milestone for the organization. It can be discouraging.
Our response to discouragement is to keep our eyes and our hearts firmly on Christ. From the baby in the manger to the corpus on the cross and the Resurrection from the tomb, that is where we find the antidote to our discouragement. That is where we find our steadfastness. That is where we find our hope.
I often say that our sidewalk counselors are the last sign of hope and the first sign of mercy for women walking into and out of the abortion clinic. It seems worth repeating during this 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope taking place in the Church.
While it might not offer all the fruits of a trip to a Holy Door in Rome or the possibility of a plenary indulgence attached to this Jubilee Year and its observations, I invite you to make it a point to join us in 2025.
Whether on Jan. 27 for the Respect Life Mass at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral at 10 a.m. and Roe Remembrance at noon, as a partner on the sidewalk or in any of our programs, pro-life work will encourage your faith and help bring hope to a desperate world.
Beth Vanderkooi is the president of Greater Columbus Right to Life.