On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the decision which made abortion legal in the United States, it’s important to reflect a bit on how many people are not with us today because they were — well, aborted.  Abortion is a, “choice” which involves a very brutal and harsh act of violence rendered against a voiceless and marginalized child. Is this America in 2018?

Every day I read a reflection on the Gospel for the Mass readings by Bishop Robert Barron. His topic today was on Roe v. Wade.  I don’t think we can underestimate the impact abortion has on people lives and our society. Below is Bishop Barron’s reflection on Roe v. Wade decision & the Gospel of Mark 3: 22-30.

Today’s Gospel speaks plainly of Satan and sin. And in light of today’s anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, we still feel the echoes. When we look realistically at the society around us, we can become pretty discouraged. The conservative estimate regarding the number of abortions since Roe v. Wade is 58,000,000. That’s almost ten times Hitler’s holocaust. Assisted suicide is now legal in a half dozen states, including California, and the death penalty remains a blight on a half dozen others. And most people in our culture now feel that these states of affairs are simply a fact of life. The culture of death, as St. John Paul II called it so bluntly, seems to be on the march.

But I want everyone to attend to what the prophet Habakkuk tells us: “Write down the vision clearly on the tablets…for the vision…will not disappoint.” What is he talking about? He’s describing the arrival of salvation to a people who had grown weary and desperate, convinced that God had abandoned them. And he is urging them to have faith, to trust.