Dobbs decision a pro-life win, but there's more work to do – Rev. Noah Rogness
Three years ago, when the Dobbs decision was heard at the U.S. Supreme Court and again when it was overturned, I stood on the sidewalk outside the Court. I heard the impassioned rallying cries on both sides.
At the time I was a pastor at a Lutheran church in Northern Virginia, just a stone’s throw from the nation’s highest court. Leading up to Roe’s overturn in 2022, I had walked many times in the March for Life advocating for the overturn of the 1973 Court decision that gave abortion access nationwide.
My wife, Becky, and I are standing in front of the Supreme Court of the United States just moments after the Dobbs decision was announced.
The pro-life movement was forged out of a common unity set on overturning Roe v Wade. But in those years that followed Roe, the pro-life movement saw the concurrent need for establishing pregnancy centers and passing human dignity laws.
The goal of finally overturning Roe was accomplished through the Dobbs Decision on June 24, 2022. And in the last three years, we’ve seen necessary shifts in the pro-life movement.
Policy battles are now waged at the state level rather than in Washington. State laws vary from state to state and they keep changing.
But the critical needs of women and children are not changing. Their dignity is not changing. So while policy work is still important, we do our best when we start local and care for those God has placed around us.
The day after the Dobbs decision, our family picked up boxes of diapers for families in need; because the overturn of Roe didn’t mean the pro-life movement was over, but rather our work became more defined.
It’s this kind of focus on locally caring for our neighbors that will change hearts and minds, and save lives.
Even in states where abortion is banned or limited, abortions still occur. Wisconsin might only have five licensed abortion facilities, but abortion proponents are all too eager to make access to abortion pills easy and convenient — ultimately turning any dorm or family bathroom into an abortion facility. Two-thirds of abortion procedures are done through pills.
These days I pastor in Tomah, where I’ve been encouraged by the local resources that I’ve discovered upon moving here and that continue to emerge in southwest Wisconsin. The pro-life movement isn’t letting up.
In our area of the state, both New Lisbon and La Crosse have seen brand new pregnancy centers open their doors to serving women, babies and families. Interest in Monroe County Right to Life hasn’t waned as their membership continues to grow.
Over in Reedsburg, Wisconsin’s first Safe Haven Baby Box was installed in case a new parent needs to use Wisconsin’s Safe Haven law to legally surrender a newborn he or she can’t care for.
At my church, we seek to embrace pregnancy and children, seeing these as blessings not burdens, even if the circumstances are difficult. This means we welcome the children’s noise in service and we prepare meals for new parents so they have one less thing to worry about as they adjust to middle-of-the-night wakeups and dirty diapers. And as we put our pro-life ethos into practice, my parishioners know I’m willing to lead a Christian burial for any baby lost before they can take their first breath.
No matter where we find ourselves in our vocations, we all can use the Dobbs anniversary as an occasion to look for ways to serve our neighbors and all those we come into contact with. Opportunities abound to empower families and lend a helping hand to a mother in trying circumstances.
Christ’s words in Matthew compel us to seek opportunities to serve others as he tells us, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
***This column was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune, June 24, 2025***
