January 22 - “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.” At all the Churches in the Dioceses of the United States of America, shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion. As individuals, we are called to observe this day through the penitential practices of prayer, fasting and/or almsgiving. ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE: JANUARY INTRODUCTION On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court legalized abortion throughout the United States in its companion decisions Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. Since that time, millions of children have lost their lives, and millions of women and families have been wounded by abortion. On June 24, 2022, the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade, and we praise God for the great opportunity state and federal legislators now have to protect preborn children. While God, in His mercy, ended the nearly fifty-year nationwide regime of abortion on demand, right now state and federal laws, in many instances, are still hostile to preborn children. So, great prayer and advocacy is very needed.