Posted on 10/23/2008 4:43:39 AM PDT by tcg
Some argue that we should not focus on policies that provide help for pregnant women, but just focus on the essential task of establishing legal protections for children in the womb. Others argue that providing lifeaffirming support for pregnant women should be our only focus and this should take the place of efforts to establish legal protections for unborn children. We want to be clear that neither argument is consistent with Catholic teaching. Our faith requires us to oppose abortion on demand and to provide help to mothers facing challenging pregnancies.
In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision knocked down laws against abortion in all 50 states, fabricating a constitutional right to abortion that continues to haunt and divide our society. Within two days of that decision, the Catholic bishops rejected it as bad morality, bad medicine and bad public policy. We called for a comprehensive response: exploring every legal possibility for challenging the Courts tragic error and restoring legal safeguards for the right to life of the unborn child; helping to pass laws to restrict the practice of abortion as much as possible in the meantime; and educating society to the need to safeguard the child and support more humane and morally acceptable solutions for women facing problems during pregnancy.
Recently, some have called on the Church to abandon most of this effort. They say we should accept Roe as a permanent fixture of constitutional law, stop trying to restore recognition for the unborn childs human rights, and confine our public advocacy to efforts to reduce abortions through improved economic and social support for women and families.The
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Cardinal Rigali ping
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