STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—Franciscan University of Steubenville welcomed news of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the tragic ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. Franciscan University, which has worked and prayed for the protection of unborn children since the beginning of the pro-life movement, applauded the justices for their courageous decision in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Franciscan University President Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, and several faculty members shared their reactions to the news:

“I am delighted the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that has wounded the soul of our country. Roe never had solid legal grounding, and I am pleased the justices had the courage to rectify the error and strike it down. I am also well aware that this decision does not mean the end of abortion in our country, and so, we who are pro-life still have much work to do, continuing to aid mothers in difficult circumstances and being instruments of healing for those who have lost a child through abortion.”

Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, President, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“This wonderful news is what so many of us have been working toward for the past 50 years!  I joined an amicus brief supporting Dobbs—along with 240 female scholars, professionals, and pro-life feminist organizations—because it rejected the radical feminist trope that women need to have access to abortion in order to enjoy a successful and rewarding life.  I was honored to sign the brief because I wanted to play a part, however small, in nullifying the notion, set out in the Roe v. Wade and Casey decisions, that women depend on abortion to achieve career success and enriching lives. But, more importantly, I joined the brief because I believe—like my other pro-life faculty and staff colleagues at Franciscan University—that we cannot stand silently by while the laws of our country continue to allow the murder of millions of unborn children in their mothers’ wombs.”

Dr. Anne Hendershott, Director, Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“Roe v. Wade was an egregiously wrong decision, and the Supreme Court is right to overrule it in Dobbs v. Jackson. What is killed in abortion is a human being—the same individual who, if not killed, will later cry, crawl, walk, talk, and so on. Every human being possesses an equal and inherent fundamental dignity, irrespective of color, size, age, or degree of development, and no class of human beings can, with justice, enslave, use, experiment on, or deliberately kill other innocent human beings for their own purposes.” 

Dr. Patrick Lee, Director, Center for Bioethics, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“That SCOTUS has finally decided to overturn Roe v. Wade is indeed good news. Legal scholars and others have argued for years that, as a matter of law, it represents both manifestly flawed legal reasoning and an egregious example of judicial overreach. It is self-evident that there is no constitutional right to abortion.  However, those of us who have been waiting for decades for the Court—and the country—to face this reality should resist celebrating too soon. Media reports to the contrary, this decision does not outlaw abortion; it only returns the issue to the legislative bodies whose task it is to determine such things. The moral issue at stake, that to choose an abortion is to choose to murder another human being, will remain a matter of debate. What must be made clear is that, while women absolutely have autonomy over their bodies, that is, we most certainly do have a “right to choose,” that freedom is NOT located at the moment one decides whether or not to kill the child in one’s womb. It is located at the precise moment a woman decides to engage in sexual intercourse, without a thought for the natural consequences of that act. Only animals have sex without thinking about it—and women are more than mere animals.” 

Dr. Deborah Savage, Professor of Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville