Prairie Fire!

Yesterday, Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota signed the bill passed by his state's legislature setting up a direct challenge to the imposition of abortion-on-demand that has existed in the United States since 1973. This 'prairie fire' is spreading as Mississippi and other states consider legislation sharply curtailing abortion. Of course these laws are expected to be challenged in court, with appeals working their way to the Supreme Court, which will have to consider whether to revise or overturn its 1973 abortion rulings.

I'm not a lawyer or a constitutional scholar, so I don't know if this is the best strategy or whether it will directly lead to the end of judicially imposed abortion-on-demand in our land. However, history is full of courageous acts that have challenged entrenched injustice. One can think of decisive moments in our country's anti-slavery and civil rights movements,or of the peaceful stirring of the workers in Poland's Gdansk shipyards which acted as a catalyst for the eventual downfall of Soviet Communism.

There will be setbacks. Don't expect the Culture of Death to turn the other cheek. Regardless, called to do God's work, we're in this to win and there's hope in the air, as was evident last night when I participated in the annual Maryland March for Life in Annapolis.