With the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case approaching, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge is using the occasion to address the significance of the decision.

“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). “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!” 

Burbidge made the comments in his capacity as the chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs case reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion nationwide, by saying that individual states have the authority to determine the legality of abortion within their borders. Soon after the ruling, several states – California, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio, for example – have decided to continue to permit abortion, although they have their own conditions and regulations, according to the Guttmacher Institute. 

“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 release. "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 has voiced strong support for the Church’s role in protecting the rights of the unborn.

"May all people of faith and goodwill work together to proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God," Burbidge said in his full statement. "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.”