Watch the Napa Institute at the United States Supreme Court here.
I was there when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Call it what you want: accident, luck, coincidence – maybe Providence. But what I saw I will never forget. And I witnessed the excitement and love that led to that day and will keep carrying the cause of life forward.
I found myself in front of the court for fitting reasons. A few blocks away, I had just interviewed Prudence Robertson, the host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly. I asked Prudence about what a “post-Roe” world could look like. She shared her thoughts, and as we packed up, she said casually to me, “Hey, let’s just take a walk by SCOTUS.” So we did.
As we approached the Court, the crowd grew larger. Lots of news outlets had their reporters on the ground. It was 10:08 in the morning and there was a clear line of division between abortion’s defenders and opponents. But the pro-life group was by far the bigger of the two camps. And they were louder and younger. Lots of young women and men were chanting and singing. Their signs ran the gamut, with phrases like: “We Are The Pro-Life Generation”; “I Am The Post-Roe Generation”; and “End Abortion Violence,” among many others.
Two minutes later, the decision came down. It was 10:10 am. In a matter of seconds, the noise level went through the roof – and so did the joy.
I’ll never forget what I saw. Grown women and men crying happy tears. Hands and eyes raised to heaven in praise. People who’d never met hugging in the street. The young women around me looked almost relieved.
The reaction was much different across the dividing line. Just a few feet away, the pro-choice protestors cut a different figure. Many were hardly dressed, wearing torn up clothes and masks, or had tape over their mouths as a kind of message. Their signs differed, too, filled with expletives, threats, and the promise of havoc. I saw a few signs that read, “We will not listen to you, SCOTUS.” and “I will aid and abet abortion.” They began to shout what can, at best, be called uncharitable things. Never in my life have I so tangibly felt the fight between good and evil.
The contrast was unmistakable. On a spiritual level, I could feel a sense of peace descend around me. It was a peace that came from knowing that after 63 million babies have been lost to abortion, so many more would be saved. At the same time, it was the peace that surpasses all understanding. I saw it written on the faces around me: joyful, happy, loving faces.
A few feet away, that peace faded, replaced by anger, even hatred. People were screaming for the ability to murder their own child, all while calling it empowerment. I listened as they shouted all kinds of threats. They also cried – with rage and resentment. These men and women weren’t evil themselves. But the things they were saying certainly were.
If I had to compare it, I felt like Dante traveling through the Inferno. Virgil, his guide, showed him the deeper circles of Hell. There was lots of noise. Reality was twisted. Everywhere he looked, he saw the rejection of the Truth. But there wasn’t heat. There was only ice – cold, uncaring ice.
It’s not just fiction. Satan spins reality on its head, turning joy to anger, truth to confusion. I saw and felt this fact firsthand. As I stood amid the elated pro-lifers, I could sense reality. Yet not far away, that reality was twisted beyond recognition.
And yet, on July 24th, 2022, truth and goodness won. It was not the final victory, but it was a major victory. I will be forever grateful that I was there when it happened. And along with tens of millions of Americans who cherish life, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Tonianne Zottoli is the marketing and digital manager at the Napa Institute.
Your email address will not be published.