by Kathryn Jean Lopez
It’s been three years since the Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade. Can we begin to start to talk about it?
“What is she talking about?” you may be thinking. Where has she been? There are about 72 news stories per day about abortion in the Dobbs age, named after the Mississippi case that led to the end of Roe.
The longer I live, though, the more I appreciate how painfully long it can take humans to process anything significant. And so it is with abortion. One of the underdiscussed issues is the need for post-abortion healing.
Ministries like After Canaan and Rachel’s Vineyard often don’t even get mentioned in Catholic churches, where you’d think they’d be most welcome, because the priest doesn’t know or because women don’t want to talk about their experiences for fear of judgement by “good Catholics.”
We live in something of a delusion when it comes to abortion. Because it is so frequently a polarizing political story, we act like we are dealing with it, usually from a place of anger. And while the political and legal aspects are important, they also can be a distraction. The law is a teacher, as we say, and so the ability to make laws regulating abortion at all is fundamental. In that sense, the end of Roe v. Wade was a bit of a win for everyone, because it meant we can actually have debates in the states about what should be and who we are. That also comes with tremendous challenges, too.
My colleague Haley Strack at National Review contacted the Washington Post recently when a news story asserted that undercover videos from the Center for Medical Progress showing Planned Parenthood employees talking about how they deal with aborted baby remains were doctored by the pro-life group. Once the Post was contacted, they corrected the story. That’s good news in the news.
When the Washington Post corrected their Planned Parenthood story, they made clear they had relied on previous reports. I certainly believe that is the case and the reporters weren’t lying. And that confirms the need for my initial question: Can we start to really talk about where we are as a country now with life after Roe?
Where can we meet and help women and families who want to bring life into the world? How can we help women heal from miscarriages and abortions — two very different kinds of losses, but unconsolable ones, both. How can we better facilitate permanent transitions out of foster care in the best interests of the children involved? And how can we at the very least get back to the Clinton-era guardrails on abortion pills and agreement on abortion being rare?
We may never know how the Dobbs decision was leaked three years ago this May, but we can start to have an honest debate/conversation/sharing of facts now.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book “A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.” She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York, and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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