Following is a statement from Kristen Curran, director of government relations, on Governor Kathy Hochul signing a series of abortion-related measures today, as well as one aimed at harassing pro-life pregnancy centers:
Statement on signing of abortion-related bills by Governor Hochul
In response to ongoing attacks on Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Religious Liberty and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:
https://www.usccb.org/news/2022/bishop-chairmen-plead-peace-attacks-pro-life-organizations-mount
The USCCB has issued a statement on the shootings in Buffalo and Laguna Woods. Please click here to read the statement:
https://www.usccb.org/news/2022/statement-usccb-shootings-buffalo-and-laguna-woods
Following the failure of the Abortion on Demand Bill, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, issued the following statement: https://www.usccb.org/news/2022/bishop-chairmen-respond-senate-vote-extreme-abortion-demand-bill
The New York State Bishops Statement, Toward a Pro-Life Future in the Empire State, is available in English and Spanish. For additional information, please visit the New York State Catholic Conference: https://www.nyscatholic.org/
The Catholic Bishops of New York State have released a major new statement on abortion as they anticipate the looming Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, and “the gathering societal unrest over the issue of abortion.” (The full statement is available HERE)
In the statement titled, “Toward a Pro-Life Future in the Empire State,” the Bishops acknowledge that, regardless of what the Court decides in Dobbs, “abortion in New York would continue unfettered.” They say that Catholics must respond “in charity and with sensitivity, but with clarity” to those for whom the prospect of an overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to “fear and anxiety,” and in particular to women facing sometimes overwhelming challenges of unplanned pregnancies.
The Bishops address head-on the false notion that the Church is more concerned with the baby in the womb than with the mother and child once he or she is born, and announce a renewed pastoral effort, challenging every Catholic entity in the state to join them:
“As far back as the 1980s, the late John Cardinal O’Connor, a giant of the pro-life movement, made a pledge that we reaffirm today: Any woman – regardless of age, religious belief or affiliation, marital status or immigration status – who is pregnant and in need, can come to the Catholic Church and we will give you the services and supports you need to carry your baby to term, regardless of your ability to pay. Furthermore, we will not abandon you and your baby after delivery, but, rather, we will see to it that you have the resources that you and your child both need and deserve. No one will be turned away from life-affirming care. If you have had an abortion that you regret, whether recently or in the distant past, please come to us as well, so that we may offer you services to help you to heal.
“We ask every Catholic parish, every Catholic Charities program, every Catholic health facility, every Catholic school, every Catholic college and university, and every religious community in our state to proactively engage with us in this pastoral effort.”
To that end, the Bishops have launched a new pregnancy resources page, Help for Moms, at www.nyscatholic.org/helpformoms, where women can find services available to them. The page will be continually updated with new resources.
Finally, the Bishops call on elected officials to work toward a New York that is more supportive of women in crisis pregnancies, and to gear public policies away from continually seeking to increase abortions and toward helping those “who might well make a different choice, if only they were aware of and had other options.” The Bishops then present a list of 12 aspirational statements of what such a New York might look like. Over the coming days, the New York State Catholic Conference’s social media platforms will highlight each of the aspirational statements, with the hashtags #WeEnvision and #HelpForMoms.
“Let us work toward making New York a state where even if abortion is not illegal, it will one day be unthinkable.,” the Bishops conclude.
The statement is signed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York, and Bishops Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, Michael W. Fisher of Buffalo, Terry R. LaValley of Ogdensburg, Salvatore R. Matano of Rochester, John O. Barres of Rockville Centre, and Douglas J. Lucia of Syracuse, on behalf of all of the state’s bishops, including auxiliary and emeritus bishops.
Bishop Matano offers prayers and solidarity with the Ukrainian Church. Read his letter here: https://catholiccourier.com/articles/rochester-bishop-offers-prayer-solidarity-with-ukrainian-church/
WASHINGTON – The National Institutes of Health announced last Friday that it is reversing limits on human fetal tissue research that were put in place by the Trump Administration. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement in response:
“The bodies of children killed by abortion deserve the same respect as that of any other person. Our government has no right to treat innocent abortion victims as a commodity that can be scavenged for body parts to be used in research. It is unethical to promote and subsidize research that can lead to legitimizing the violence of abortion. Researchers have demonstrated that we can do effective scientific research and develop efficacious clinical treatments without harvesting tissue from aborted babies. It is also deeply offensive to millions of Americans for our tax dollars to be used for research that collaborates with an industry built on the taking of innocent lives. I call on the Biden Administration to instead fund research that does not rely upon body parts taken from innocent children killed through abortion.”
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a proposed rule to reverse “The Protect Life Rule,” a regulation issued by the Trump Administration in 2019 to clearly separate abortion from family planning in the federal Title X family planning program. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued the following statement expressing profound disappointment over this action:
“This policy change will allow the Title X program to become an indirect funding avenue for abortion providers. In spite of explicit prohibitions in Federal law and clear congressional intent that abortion may not be a part of this program, it has repeatedly been coopted by abortion supporters as a funding stream for organizations, programs, and facilities that directly promote and provide abortions.
“While the USCCB has always had strong objections to government promotion and funding of contraceptives, we have also long supported clear financial and physical separation between Title X-funded projects and programs and facilities where abortion is a method of family planning. This proposed rule is terrible policy; it would reintegrate abortion into what is supposed to be a pre-pregnancy family planning program. I strongly urge the Biden Administration to suspend this proposed rule and leave the Title X program as it was intended and authorized to be – a program entirely separate from abortion.”
April 16, 2021
WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that they will no longer be enforcing the “in-person dispensing requirement” for the chemical abortion pills during the remainder of the COVID-19 public health emergency. This requirement was put in place by public health officials over twenty years ago, under President Bill Clinton, as a necessary precondition to ensure that pregnant women do not have contraindications that would make the abortion pills even more unsafe and possibly deadly for the woman. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:
“It is difficult to see the FDA’s decision to not enforce important safety protocols as anything other than callous capitulation to the requests of abortion activists without regard for the health and safety of the women involved. An in-person evaluation by a medical professional is necessary to accurately determine the age of the baby (abortion pills are only approved for use in the first 70 days), whether the pregnancy is ectopic (which the woman has no way of knowing on her own), and to test and treat for Rh-incompatibility between mother and baby. Without this information and proper treatment, a woman’s health, future fertility, and life are placed in serious jeopardy. With this decision, not only are women being sold the lie that abortion will solve their problems, but also that chemical abortion is a safe and easy way to go about it. By pushing women away from medical oversight, abortion advocates are luring women into isolated, unsafe, and medically unwise decisions. The inalienable dignity of women and their unborn children deserves so much more.”
Link to News Release
