Today marks the 45th anniversary of the two most tragic Supreme Court decisions in American history, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. (Pro-lifers around the nation celebrated Sanctity of Life Sunday last week.) Those decisions sparked a contentious debate between those who would deny legal protection for babies in the womb, and those who rightly acknowledge that those babies constitute “life” as understood throughout history and affirmed in our Declaration of Independence. Tragically, that right has been denied to nearly 60 million unborn children sacrificed on the altar of “choice” since 1973.

Though this issue will never be resolved until the yearly number of abortions is zero, there are encouraging prospects to note as we consider the sanctity of human life. And every life saved is a victory.

One poll shows that eight in 10 Americans would restrict abortion to the first trimester, while six in 10 believe it is “morally wrong.” But far more encouraging is the shift in the spirit of the pro-life movement. There are still peaceful marches and strong, quiet vigils of prayer outside of abortion clinics, but there are also Internet outreach efforts, maternity homes, medical pregnancy resource centers and other ministries that are empowering young women to see their true range of options.

Yet more and more ministries and public figures are pointing out the absurdity of a movement centered on choice that leaves a woman no choice at all. Online for Life is using the power of the Internet to reach out to those who search for pregnancy options. Former Planned Parenthood nurse Abby Johnson’s ministry And Then There Were None is giving a voice and a choice to those who desire to no longer work for the nation’s largest abortion mill. Project Rachel and Abortion Changes You, among many other such ministries, are coming alongside the hurting women who have already experienced the pain of abortion. Save the Storks takes compassion to those who are in need with a mobile resource center housed in a luxury bus. Students for Life has a wide presence on college campuses.

In our own home town, we’re proud to support Choices Pregnancy Resource Center and the efforts of the wonderful people there to love women, men and their children.

These are just a few of the innovative ministries that are leading the way to a stronger, more understanding and more effective pro-life movement.

The same cannot be said for the other side, which exploits women to serve a twisted agenda.

Roe v. Wade was the infamous case in which Norma McCorvey was used as a plaintiff by leftist attorneys to overturn laws restricting abortion in Texas. A decision upholding Texas law was ultimately overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court, which found a heretofore unprecedented “right to privacy” in the so-called “due process clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment. The despotic branch divined from their “living constitution” that this right entitled a mother to end the life of her baby before his or her birth. Simultaneous with Roe v. Wade, in Doe v. Bolton, using the plaintiff Sandra Cano, the Supremes determined that any complaint — including headaches — could be used as grounds for requesting an abortion.

Since the decisions in those cases, both McCorvey and Cano have recanted their testimony. McCorvey said plainly, “I think abortion’s wrong. I think what I did with Roe v. Wade was wrong,” and she has stood by those words in the years since.

Cano, in her 2005 testimony before the U.S. Senate, said: “Using my name and life, Doe v. Bolton falsely created the health exception that led to abortion on demand and partial birth abortion. How it got there is still pretty much a mystery to me. I only sought legal assistance to get a divorce from my husband and to get my children from foster care. … At no time did I ever have an abortion. I did not seek an abortion nor do I believe in abortion. Yet my name and life is now forever linked with the slaughter of 40-50 million babies. … How can cunning, wicked lawyers use an uneducated, defenseless pregnant woman to twist the American court system in such a fraudulent way? Doe has been a nightmare. … My name, life, and identity have been stolen and put on this case without my knowledge and against my wishes. How dare they use my name and my life this way! One of the justices of the Supreme Court said during oral argument in my case ‘What does it matter if she is real or not?’ Well I am real and it does matter.”

Like McCorvey and Cano, millions of women and countless unborn babies are being denied choice by the “pro-choice” movement today.

Americans are obviously tiring of a movement based on such an audacious lie. Scientifically and morally it has always been evident that life starts well before those first beautiful cries. And today’s pro-life movement is succeeding more and more where it counts most: changing hearts.

Publisher’s Note: Both McCorvey and Cano have endorsed the National Memorial for the Unborn, a special place dedicated to healing hearts by honoring unborn children in a tangible way with memorial plaques placed on a granite wall. There is a special book, Empty Arms, which includes 50 stories of hope and healing from across the nation — each one represented on the Memorial wall.