By Mary Stadnyk
Special Contributor
Hundreds of advocates for the sanctity of life gathered in Trenton on June 24 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, which had legalized abortion.
Those from across the state and beyond – many hailing from the Diocese of Camden – began their day by attending a Mass for Life celebrated in Saint Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. After Mass, those in attendance walked to the nearby Statehouse Annex, where they joined others for a peaceful and prayerful Rally for Life organized by NJ Right to Life.
PHOTO GALLERY: NJ Right to Life Rally
“Sadly, our great state of New Jersey is one of the states that has acted to enshrine abortion in law for any reason up to birth,” said Joseph Sosnowsky of Saint Damian Parish, Ocean City.
“New Jersey, in response to the overturning of Roe, has enacted and continues to enact these extreme pro-abortion policies. As a result, our struggle to protect life has only taken another turn, and a new uphill battle has begun,” he said. “We now need to redouble our efforts to protect life with words and action. We need to redouble our efforts to support moms in need and be aware of and voice our objections to legislative policies that undermine life.”
Among those to speak at the rally were politicians, medical professionals and organizations that provide care for unborn children and their mothers.
“Dobbs is the game-changer and God-willing, the beginning of the end of the culture of death,” said U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, a native of New Jersey who attends Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Whiting. “It is an engraved invitation to policy-makers at every level, including Congress and the president, to protect unborn children from the violence of abortion. The sacred burden to double down on our vital life-saving work has never been clearer.”
Rep. Smith noted that since the Dobbs decision, 14 states have banned abortion while others have enacted laws to prohibit abortions at six weeks, 12 weeks, 15 weeks, 18 weeks and 20 weeks. Another eight states have new protections that have been blocked by lower courts “and we hope they will be sustained,” he said.
While the right to have an abortion has been overturned at the federal level, each state has the authority to determine whether abortion is legal for its citizenry. In New Jersey, abortion remains legal at all stages of pregnancy without restriction.
“There is nothing humane or benign about abortion,” Rep. Smith said. “Abortion is not health care, unless one construes the precious life of an unborn child to analogous to a tumor to be excised or a disease to be vanquished.”
Mary Stadnyk is associate editor for The Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Jennifer Mauro, managing editor of the Catholic Star Herald, contributed to this report.
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