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(LifeSiteNews) — Cheers erupted in front of the Supreme Court on Friday morning in Washington, D.C., after the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was published. Pro-life leaders addressed excited crowds and prayed for the healing of the country.
“We need a moment of silence,” leader of Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins said, “for the millions of mothers and fathers who’ve been lied to by the pro-abortion industry, who’ve been lied to and told it was nothing but a blob of tissue. Today, Roe v. Wade made its way to the ash heap of history, where it belongs.”
Pausing for a moment of prayer, Hawkins went on, “Open our hearts to life. Make us a culture of life in this nation. God, I pray that you will forgive us for the lives that are lost.”
Hawkins addressed the young people present who had come day after day to the Supreme Court as the country awaited the Dobbs decision. “Pro-life generation, you’ve been here every decision day,” she said. “You’ve always believed, you’ve never given up. The Lord hears us. The feeling of defeat, the taunting, the violence from pro-abortion activists, the social stigma of being outspokenly anti-abortion, the wondering if we would ever make it to this day. We did it. And your efforts mattered; your efforts have been seen around the world.”
“People will tell you that today is an assault on women’s rights,” she continued, “but nothing, nothing, could be further from the truth. … It was never empowering to tell a woman that her freedom could be bought with the blood of her child.”
Looking forward to the work that lies ahead for the pro-life movement, Hawkins encouraged pro-lifers to both rejoice in today’s victory for life and to spearhead efforts to protect life in every state.
“What do we do now?” she asked. “First, we celebrate. We have to appreciate the 50 years that got us here today. We have to celebrate the children, the 880 children who will not die today, who will not die tomorrow at the hands of the abortion industry. We have to celebrate the legacy of the original pro-life gen who came before us, who made this effort possible, who did something that’s never been done in the history of the world before.”
“And then tomorrow we go out, we go out to our communities, and we be a light. We show America that no woman stands alone in a post-Roe America. … Tomorrow, we go out and we make our world better. We put this nation back together again. We transform our culture into one that respects every human life … all of you will go back to your states tomorrow, and you will rush to your capital, and you will demand that your legislators protect life and law.”
Hawkins concluded with a rousing call to let today’s landmark victory spur a new impetus to heal the country. “Friends, she said, “this is not the end of the pro-life generation, this is only the beginning … this is the next phase. For such a time as this, we were called for this moment … to make abortion unthinkable and illegal throughout our nation, to assure no woman stands alone in a post-Roe America, to be the post-Roe generation.”