WASHINGTON, June 24, 2022 (KAP/KNA) The US Supreme Court has allowed states to ban abortion. On Friday, judges in Washington overturned the landmark “Roe vs. Wade” ruling, which in 1973 derived a right to abortion from the US Constitution. So far, the court had therefore declared abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy to be lawful. The repeal now allows states to limit or ban abortion.
The US Catholic Bishops’ Conference welcomed Friday’s verdict and spoke of a “historic day in the life of our country”. For almost 50 years, America has had an “unjust law” that has allowed some to decide “whether others can live or die”; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of unborn children. Generations have been denied the right to be born at all, according to a statement from the chair, Archbishop Jose Gomez, and Archbishop William Lori, chair of the Pro-Life Activities Committee.
The truth that all people in America were born with equal God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was painfully denied by the Roe vs. Wade ruling, which “legalized and normalized the killing of innocent people.” “We thank God today that the court has now reversed that decision.” Pray that elected officials will now enact laws and policies “that will nurture and protect the most vulnerable among us,” said the archbishops of Los Angeles and Baltimore.
At the same time, they recalled the Church’s duty to support “those who are facing difficult pregnancies and to surround them with love”. Now is the time to begin building a “post-Roe America,” to heal wounds and mend social divisions, the US bishops said.
San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone also welcomed the decision as “historic”. “The arc of history is long, but it bows to justice,” he quoted civil rights activist Martin Luther King as saying. The verdict would not have come about without 50 years of “patient, loving and hard work by people of all faiths,” the archbishop said. “But our work has only just begun.”
The Church must redouble its efforts to support women and couples who are confronted with unexpected or difficult pregnancies “and to show mercy to those who are suffering the after-effects of the abortion experience,” Cordileone said. In May, he banned the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, from receiving communion in his diocese because the Catholic is campaigning for freedom of choice on the issue of abortion.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas also welcomed the verdict on Twitter and encouraged: “May the pro-life movement keep our nation in prayer as many are reacting negatively to this important step to protect unborn life.”
Bishop Donald Hying of Madison stated, “After nearly half a century of state-legal abortion, more than 65 million precious lives lost and countless others who have endured deep pain and suffering as a result,” the decision was a long-awaited answer to prayers by Millions. “It offers us great hope for a deeper flowering of human dignity.”
The Supreme Court was expected to overturn Roe vs. Wade after a draft was made public in May. As a result, a polarized debate began in the USA between opponents and advocates of a renewed tightening of abortion laws. Sometimes there were violent demonstrations and attacks on churches.
–
