It was my birthday, one year ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. We praised God and celebrated a victory I wondered if I would be alive to witness. Pro-life advocates joyfully counted the lives of spared babies like new mothers count toes. Then, the onslaught began. Pro-abortion activists demonized the justices, pregnancy resource centers, churches, and pro-life lawmakers they deemed vulnerable. They ratcheted up their rhetoric with the help of the news media breathlessly running stories of lost “constitutional rights” and the “attack on women.” They even turned to violence and threats against pro-life groups.

After a fear-laden temper tantrum disparaging all who value life and the mothers facing a daunting decision, abortion industry activists went full-on radical. They lobbied for state laws that allow abortion to the moment of birth, strip safety precautions for women having abortions, skirt laws prohibiting the dangerous abortion pill, and eliminate doctors from the abortion process. And now, they include sex-change surgeries, even for minors, in their new definition of “reproductive healthcare.” For them, the end of Roe was the end of limits on a more extreme leftist agenda.

Abortion activists pushed and passed an abortion ballot measure in Michigan that not only legalized abortion to birth, but sanctioned sex-change surgeries for minors without their parents’ consent. Simultaneously, they pushed “shield” laws in progressive states that do the same. Proud leftists overtly tout such legislation in blue states, while covertly hiding it in deceptive language in red or purple states. Ohio faces a Michigan-style ballot measure this November.

The unabashed, threatening approach has set some on their heels, but this is not a time to shrink back and hedge on the sanctity of life. Pro-life means standing for the most vulnerable who cannot stand for themselves, at every stage of development, and for any reason.

The Arizona Supreme Court is considering the state’s pre-Roe law limiting abortion to cases where the mother’s life is in danger. If the Court upholds the law, Arizona will be among several states able to take full advantage of the authority returned to them by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs.

But it doesn’t end there. Abortion pills are responsible for more than half of abortions, and although sending the abortion pill through the mail is illegal in Arizona, many are coming from outside the country. Contrary to activists’ claims, the abortion pill is very dangerous because it must be taken under strict guidelines. If a woman takes the pills without seeing a doctor, she won’t know if she has an ectopic pregnancy, which can be deadly. Women often misjudge how far along they are, which leads to taking the pills far beyond the limit, putting her at risk.

Read one recent report here about a women with an undetected ectopic pregnancy that ruptured her fallopian tube two weeks after taking the abortion pill. A couple of doctors saved her life.

Abortion industry activists, long claiming to be advocates for women, are doing everything they can to tear down sensible safety precautions and regulations that protect women – all in an effort to secure abortion at any time, for any reason, in every state.

New York just passed a law shielding abortion doctors who send the abortion pill to states that have laws against it. Not satisfied with expanding abortion in their own state, they insist on targeting women and their unborn babies in our state as well.

So, our road ahead stretches far and includes many obstacles and land mines, but we made it over the mountain called Roe and we won’t skip a beat. On the contrary, we are encouraged and inspired. A recent report shows the number of abortions dropped by 94,000 in states with abortion bans after the Dobbs opinion. And, although abortions increased in pro-abortion states by 70,000, that is still 24,000 fewer abortions overall.

Also, even in the face of violence, false accusations, and legislative threats, pro-life pregnancy resource centers throughout the country have met the challenge of serving the increase in women who need help as they face unplanned pregnancies. Now, those centers need our prayers and support.

We need every pro-life Arizonan ready to engage in the 2024 election cycle to stand for life and do what they can to stand for the unborn and their mothers by supporting pregnancy resource centers, pro-life legislators, and serving scared women facing unplanned pregnancies.

On this week’s Engage Arizona podcast, we discuss the many efforts to that end, as well as what we have learned in the year since Roe fell. Click here to listen.

ICYMI

• Read here about the effort to fight for equal protection for all, and here for National Review’s article on the pro-life movement’s North Star: Equal Protection.
• Read here how about the National Celebrate Life Day tomorrow. Register to view on livestream.
• Read here how The Republic covered the Dobbs anniversary and my response.

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