Although it’s been almost a year since the Supreme Court backpedaled on abortion rights, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge reminded people that the fight is not over.

“June 24, 2023, marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and we have much to celebrate,” Burbidge said in a release put out by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Burbidge serves as the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “By the grace of God, the nearly 50-year reign of national abortion on demand has been put to an end. Roe v. Wade—a seemingly insurmountable blight on our nation—is no more!” 

The Dobbs case ruling, while not banning abortion outright, shifted the responsibility for establishing parameters for terminating pregnancies back to states. Not long after the ruling, several states – California, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio, among them – decided to continue to permit abortion, albeit with varying conditions and regulations, according to the Guttmacher Institute. 

The lax rules in some states is the reason Burbidge says the fight is not over.

“Even as we celebrate, we are reminded that this is not the end, but the beginning of a critical new phase in our efforts to protect human life. Despite this momentous legal victory, sobering and varied challenges lie ahead of us," Burbidge said in the statement. "Over the past year, while some states have acted to protect preborn children, others have tragically moved to enshrine abortion in law—enacting extreme abortion policies that leave children vulnerable to abortion, even until the moment of birth.”

Burbidge supports the Church’s role in protecting the rights of the unborn. and urged Catholics and others to let their voices be heard.

"May all people of faith and good will work together to proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God," Burbidge said in the full statement his committee put out. "That each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self, and others. And that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.”