“If the past year and a half has taught us anything, it is this: Dobbs is not the end. It is a victory — a tremendous victory — but not a decisive one,” he said.
Burbidge added that the unborn are still in danger; mothers are still being harmed; and couples, children, and families are still in need of “resources, support, and love.”
He said that the pro-life movement “suffered a particularly difficult loss for unborn life” after the Dobbs decision when several states enshrined abortion rights with “radical amendments” to their constitutions.
Burbidge also pointed to “Catholic politicians and intellectuals” who “tragically continue to publicly endorse abortion as though it is a right and advocate for pro-abortion policies.”
He then took aim at the Biden administration’s pro-abortion policies.
“The current administration has removed safety protocols on the distribution of abortion pills, endangering women’s health and making vulnerable women more susceptible to coercion and abuse,” he said.
Burbidge said that money is “flooding” in to help abortion activists “tell falsehoods, to deceive people, and to portray anyone who stands up for life as irrational, radical, and intolerant,” adding that they are “supported by the media and public relations strategists.”
Burbidge said that “we must find new ways” of communicating the truth without compromise. The truth must be communicated even in the “darkest places, through service and always with Christ at the center,” he said.
“All of human life is sacred. The right to life is absolutely fundamental. No one has a right to directly take the life of another. No one has a right to devalue another,” he said.
“More than anything,” Burbidge said, “we must continue to serve, as the theme for the 2024 March for Life reminds us: With every mother, for every child.”
Burbidge pointed to the work of pregnancy resource centers as being “at the center of our mission.”
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“We must fortify those efforts and ensure that those who choose life have a home, an income, food, clothing, and provisions for their children. We must help mothers and fathers through the challenges of pregnancy and welcoming a new life,” he said.
Sean McKeown and Thiago Mesquita, two seminarians who traveled by train from Boston on Thursday morning, told CNA they were inspired by Burbidge’s homily and the size of the crowd.
“It’s definitely motivating for tomorrow to go out into the streets and march. Seeing all the people here today definitely felt like we have a lot of people that are supporting this cause,” McKeown said.
“It’s just once a year, so for me, it’s like everybody is working throughout the year to prepare for this powerful and big moment for the Church in the U.S. And I just felt like that’s my place, that I can rest and think of life, think of the importance of each person,” Mesquita said.
Two students from nearby Catholic University of America, sophomore Millie Bamsy and senior Mary Grace Raddell, told CNA that they appreciated Burbidge’s call to action.
