Legal abortion turned 29 Jan. 22, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. In that time, were more than 38 million legal abortions in the United States— more than a million a year since 1978, nearly a million a year before that.

The age and productivity of the American abortion industry mean that there are literally millions of adults missing from today's society. We've seen the results in the worker shortages, particularly on the East Coast. But there are other, unseen consequences of so many men and women “missing in action”.

In the movie It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey gets a chance to see what the world would have been like had he never been born. It's not a pretty sight.

In place of his Bailey Park, a community built on Bailey Brothers Building and Loan's principles, which combine altruism and business sense, the town has become Pottersville, a cold, consumerist place that has unleashed its inhabitants' worst tendencies by allowing pure profit to decide all the important things.

We could very well look at America today and see Pottersville writ large— a place where 25% of cable-TV revenue comes from pornography, a place closer to Ayn Rand's theories than to Christ's heart.

One can't help but wonder if perhaps modern America was sent a George Bailey of its own— and we aborted him.

Or maybe the thousands who marched on Washington Jan. 22 are our George Baileys.

Despite the gloom of three decades of abortion, there are signs of hope in Pottersville. The hope comes not primarily from politicians (for instance, while Bush's words on abortion are wonderful, we'd like to see more actions) but from the American people.

The mothers. Today, abortion's “other” victims, the mothers, are rising up as never before. We can expect that the trickle of protests from mothers today will become a raging river in a short time. Mothers who have had abortions know the truth in their hearts— and, increasingly, they are willing to share it. They know that they killed their children. And they know that abortion supporters weren't interested in giving them “choices;” they were interested in giving them abortions.

The kind of devastation of spirit that Project Rachel and other post-abortion syndrome experts are dealing with now touches scores of women and their families. This is a ticking time bomb of protests, lawsuits and public outcry against the abortion industry and those who harbor it.

The new evangelization. The prayers of so many in the Jubilee year, and the efforts that have begun to rechristianize society, won't go unrewarded. The bottom-line truth is that Christ is the Lord of history. He gives human beings freedom— a freedom powerful enough to leave the world in ruins. But he also responds powerfully when men use that freedom to promote virtues of justice and truth.

And God answers prayers.

This year, as in previous March for Life crowds, Our Lady of Guadalupe was featured prominently. Pro-lifers are wise to put the situation in her care each year. She transformed America once before, said Pope John Paul II, and she can do it again.

A new openness. After Sept. 11, there was a great resurgence of religious faith and of interest in patriotism and time-honored virtues. Some have pointed out that the initial signs of a spiritual reawakening have faded. But it is really too soon to tell.

Perhaps there was a superficial return to churches early on after the attack. But there will likely be a more authentic reordering of priorities as the threats that exist in the world continue to dawn on us and convince us to look inward for what really matters. That deeper process will take more time.

In the end, we know that God delights in bringing great good out of great evil. If we cooperate with him, and persist in our prayers for peace in the world and peace in the womb, we will be surprised at the size of the good he will bring from the evil of abortion.