Respect for all life…
This past week, on Jan 22nd, was the anniversary of the 1973 tragic Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion. We are quickly approaching 50 years of the legalized killing of the unborn. This day should stand as a reminder to us all of the spiritual battle we are facing to defend the dignity of all life, especially in age that seems to have been swallowed up by the culture of death. This day should remind us of our vocational call from God to defend all life as a Sacred gift from His Love, to be the voice of the voiceless, to be the courage and protector of the abused, neglected and forgotten of society.
My dear friend Norma McCorvey, the Roe in the Roe v. Wade court decision, who passed away in Feb of 2017 deeply, regretted her part in the legalization of abortion. I would like to share a brief story of Norma. When I was a deacon (seminarian) she was speaking at a pro-life event for seminarians. After her talk she hung around for the next witness of a mother who lost her daughter (and grandbaby) as a result of a botched abortion. As this woman told her story, I witnessed Norma becoming more and more distressed, so I took her into a private room so we could talk. She kept saying, “it is all my fault.” I tried to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault, but she kept on saying it was her fault. Finally, she looked at me and said, “you don’t get it Eric, that is my name on the paper, it is my name that legalized abortion.” There was more she confided in me, but what I will never forget is her deep regret and the pain that Roe v Wade caused her, but also the call for all of us, to remember that if we continue to remain silent, if we continue to do nothing, if we continue to think of this battle as strictly a ‘political battle’ we might as well join in the refrain of Norma: “it is all my fault.”