Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis recently reflected on the national March for Life day and the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that made abortions legal in the United States.

Archbishop Hebda shared the following post on Facebook: “It’s indeed inspiring to have so many of you here, and knowing of your commitment to the great cause of life.  It’s important that we recognize that this is something that goes beyond our parish level or church level, but that it’s an effort that unites people of many faiths.  To those of you who have come from outside of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, we give a particular welcome, especially to our Orthodox brothers and sisters and also to our Protestant brothers and sisters.  We’re delighted to be able to pray with you this morning on this important occasion.  In an opinion piece published in this morning’s USA Today, Ashley McGuire noted that yesterday’s March for Life in Washington DC was different than the 48 that preceded it.  ‘This year,’ she wrote, ‘we marched on the brink of a post-Roe world.  For those who support life,’ she noted, ‘that is cause for a calm and steadfast seriousness.’  I think, brothers and sisters, gathered here in the Cathedral of Saint Paul, that she is talking about us, too.  We need a calm and steadfast seriousness.  We gather here this morning not just as supporters of unborn life and a culture of life, but as women and men of prayer.  We bring something unique to the cause of life, which we know should be supported not only by those of faith, but also by men and women of science – men and women of reason.  For nearly fifty years our laws have supported a barbaric affront to life – all human life, that defies what we know from science and medicine.  What we know from reason about human life.  As people of faith, our response throughout these 49 years has been to come before our God to plead for mercy, to ask Him to help us change hearts, as well as to change laws.  To share with Him our deepest desires, to bring an end to abortion: a practice which has no place in a modern world.  A practice that harms women and families, as it terminates a new life that God has ordained to bring into this world."

The first March for Life took place in January 1974 and was organized by Nellie Gray a year after the Supreme Court decision. The march will continue every year until the decision is overturned, according to March for Life organizers. The theme of the 49th annual March for Life on Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C., was “equality begins in the womb.”  

"Participants in the March were optimistic about the future of the pro-life movement in the United States, as a decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case is expected this summer,” Fox News reported.

Jan. 22 is the designated Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children in the U.S.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”