Whether you celebrate Christmas or not (and please pardon me for hearkening back to yuletide when your azaleas are finally blooming), you’ve probably heard that famous line of Scrooge’s from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” That line was on my mind in the last days of April, which was Child Abuse Prevention Month. I realize that we need to have days, weeks, and months like this to raise awareness about important issues, but the fact is that child predators won’t conveniently wait until next April to abuse children. So if children are at risk of abuse year round, we adults must have their protection at the forefront of our minds year round.

One year ago today, I was thrilled to have a front-row seat when the Massachusetts governor signed the pregnancy care and anti-shackling bill into law. Twelve months later, my mood is tempered by the mixed picture we see around the state, from full compliance with the law on paper to violations of...