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Dobbs v. Hobbes: Weekly Message 08-02-2022
Dear Friends in Christ,
The overturn by the U.S. Supreme Court of the Roe v. Wade abortion decision was a little like the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Some of us didn’t think we would see it happen in our lifetimes.
The overturn wasn’t a total surprise when it did happen, owing to a draft opinion leaked back in May. Still, the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision felt like the Fall of the Wall.
Reactions among pro-lifers ranged from ecstatic joy to humble thankfulness to sober reflection, and everything in between. Why the soberness? Because, in the words of one commentator, Dobbs wasn’t the end but, rather, the end of the beginning.
That is, abortion is far from being a settled issue. A new era of struggle opens.
And as many states quickly move to put limits on abortion, pro-lifers would do well to step up and lend support to the women who will face challenging pregnancies. Now is the moment to show the world that the pro-life cause isn’t just about scoring legal victories—it’s about protecting the dignity of women and their babies alike.
And while it’s about ensuring the future—inconceivable without children—it’s also about safeguarding our very humanity today.
For if we lose a sense of our interconnectedness as persons, we lose a sense of ourselves. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes’s dreary view could have its day; life could seem “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”
One antidote to this darkness comes from contemplating the dignity of moms and children through the prism of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the life of Jesus.
To that end, our rosary Retreat Guide, River of wisdom: A retreat guide on the rosary, might be a step in the right direction—toward a culture of life.
In Christ,
Father Edward McIlmail, LC
Ask a Priest contributor
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While the celebration of life still unborn is obvious in the overturn, the protection and celebration of pregnant women’s lives (through all sorts of trauma and violence included) is not clear for many in the many policies and applications of the law open to states in this decision. We would do well to be as vocal about this, and as open to the rightful cries of concern from women and pro-choicers, and advocate for the women whose right to protection of life and from violence, and to dignity under the law and in daily roles and regard, are still to be guaranteed and honored in many ways across the world, and even in our own democratic nation.
I am so grateful for the wisdom to love and know how to love deeper, to trust and to trust deeper, to hope and to hope deeper. These retreat guides are great pearls of wisdom to guide us in this very time. Thank you, bless you.