Where abortion is on the ballot, Catholic bishops issue calls for action

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 30, 2024 / 15:40 pm

As Election Day nears and early voting begins, several Catholic bishops are issuing urgent requests to voters, calling on them to oppose sweeping abortion amendments on the ballot in their states. If passed, these measures would make it extremely difficult or impossible to enact pro-life laws. 

In Colorado, where abortion is already legal through all nine months of pregnancy, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila is optimistic that Amendment 79 can be defeated, saying: “We have a path to victory” through prayer and action.

The Colorado amendment would modify the state constitution to explicitly ban any restrictions or impediments on the “right to abortion” or health insurance coverage for abortion.

To Aquila, as well as many other bishops, it’s a matter of getting the word out about just how far these amendments go. In an open letter published on Sept. 27, Aquila pointed out that recent polling suggested that if more Coloradans knew how much the amendment would expand abortion, support would fall to 47%, well below the 55% threshold needed for the measure to pass.

“Coloradans need to know that Amendment 79 creates a constitutional right to abortion and bans any limits on late abortion,” he said. “Even restrictions on abortions in the ninth month for healthy mothers and healthy babies would be illegal.”

Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop James Johnston, meanwhile, expressed trepidation over the possibility of the Missouri amendment passing. In a statement released Sept. 20, Johnston noted that “the present odds appear to favor the culture of death.”

A poll published by St. Louis University and YouGov at the end of August showed that 52% of Missourians supported the abortion amendment, 34% opposed it, and 14% were unsure.

Johnston said that “the magnitude and gravity of the current moment requires a fervent spiritual response.” He expressed hope that all Catholics will “respond to this gathering storm with prayer and action.”

In addition to voting against the amendment and spreading the word about the “extreme” danger it presents to life, Johnston said he wants Catholics to increase their prayer, fasting, and action.

“I hope we can all respond to this gathering storm with prayer and action, aided by the help of Our Lady and the grace of Our Lord,” he said. “As Catholics, we must renew and add to the ways we support women and families experiencing an unexpected pregnancy or difficult diagnosis and their preborn babies through supportive care and love. This is the best response to what Pope Francis has called the ‘throwaway culture.’”

In Florida, where amendments require a 60% threshold to pass and several experts believe the pro-life movement has its best chance of success, the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of efforts to defeat the abortion amendment.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops was one of the first groups to oppose the state’s abortion amendment, saying that it was “misleading” and “dangerous.” The Florida bishops have helped organize efforts to defeat the amendment. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told CNA in August that the bishops had collectively raised several millions of dollars to spread awareness about the amendment’s dangers and to get out the vote against it.

In a column published in May, Wenski said that “unborn children matter — and so do their mothers.”

“In urging a no vote on Amendment 4, we wish to protect not only the unborn child — the weakest, most innocent and defenseless among us — but we also seek to protect countless women from the harms of abortion,” he said. “This is not to ‘impose our views’ but to ‘make our proposal’ about what is necessary for human flourishing in society. By insisting that every human being matters, we bring to public policy debates on issues of human dignity, justice, and peace an understanding of the human person that, while founded on the Christian Scriptures, is also accessible to human reason.”

As the November elections draw closer, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has also spoken out against the amendments. In a statement marking the start of October as Respect Life Month,” Arlington, Virginia, Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged all Catholics to stand against the “gravely evil ballot initiatives that would enshrine abortion in their state constitutions.”

“What we now see is that 50 years of virtually unlimited abortion has tragically created a national mindset where many Americans have become comfortable with some amount of abortion. This allows the abortion industry to continue to provide any amount of abortion,” Burbidge said.

Like the other bishops, Burbidge said: “We need a revival of prayer and action.”

Burbidge urged all Catholics to join in praying the “Prayer for Life to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

These bishops, who have spoken out recently, are joined by their brother bishops representing all 10 states where abortion is on the ballot have weighed in and who have urged voters to oppose these measures.