No rest for the weary

Pro-lifers spent nearly 50 years working to overturn Roe v. Wade, but they barely had any time to celebrate the Dobbs decision. It quickly became clear that ending court-mandated legal abortion nationwide was just the beginning of the fight for life. WORLD’s Leah Savas chronicled many battles waged over the past year. Her story,  “Do no harm,” explores how treatment for complicated pregnancies has become a pro-abortion rallying cry.

Overturning Roe v. Wade was definitely a victory for pro-lifers. But it came with some unintended consequences. What surprised you most about what’s happened in the last year? The reversal of Roe surprised me most. I thought the Supreme Court would only allow states to protect unborn life after a certain gestational limit. But once it happened, I was disappointed—not exactly surprised—to see so many formerly pro-life lawmakers waffle on their convictions about abortion. It also troubled me to see ­voters in states including my homeland of Michigan take the narratives from abortion advocates seriously. That led to pro-life losses in several abortion-­related ballot measures.

You wrote about some past skirmishes in the abortion wars in your book with Marvin Olasky, The Story of Abortion in America. What lessons can those times teach us? Even decades before Roe v. Wade, when abortion was illegal, it still happened. Long before modern medicine, doctors knew life begins at conception but still killed unborn babies. So laws against abortion and knowledge about unborn life won’t end abortion. But history also shows us that personal reverence toward God and the support of communities that valued unborn life often helped protect babies that might have otherwise become victims of abortion. Christians have a unique role in recovering these things.

What gives you the most hope as you look ahead to the next few years of pro-life activism? It sounds like a Sunday school answer, but truly God’s Word gives me the most hope. In Scripture, we learn that the Lord is ­sovereign and that we should expect trouble in this world. But we also read His commands to remain faithful and His promises of ultimate victory over sin and death. He’s used many former enemies in the fight against abortion. I’m encouraged by the stories of Christians who continue out of love for God despite discouragements. No ­matter what developments we see in the next few years, we can be confident that God is sovereign over even the most hardened hearts. He will accomplish His plans.