As news spread of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion June 24 in a case that stemmed from Mississippi’s law barring most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Minnesota’s Catholic bishops and others responded with gratitude and concern.
“Along with women and men across our nation who respect the inherent dignity of each human life, the Catholic bishops of Minnesota give thanks to God on this historic day as the Supreme Court ends the injustice of the Roe v. Wade decision,” said Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Joseph Williams of St. Paul and Minneapolis in a written statement issued through Minnesota Catholic Conference.
“We are grateful that the Supreme Court has returned to state Legislatures and federal officials the ability to protect preborn children and save mothers and fathers from the untold pain of abortion,” said the bishops, joined by Bishops Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Daniel Felton of Duluth, Donald Kettler of St. Cloud, John Quinn of Winona-Rochester and Msgr. Douglas Grams of New Ulm.
“For almost 50 years, Roe grievously denied one of America’s founding principles: that all men and women — irrespective of their stage of development — are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Forgetting this self-evident truth has resulted in the death of over 60 million preborn children and the wounding of millions of mothers and fathers,” the bishops said.
The Church is committed to helping women and men who are dealing with a crisis pregnancy, so they are not forced to choose abortion, the bishops said.
“We are proud that many of our Catholic faithful work in crisis pregnancy centers that create nonjudgmental networks of support for women,” they said in the statement. “These centers offer shelter, housing assistance, free diapers and clothing, pregnancy and parenting classes, community referrals, childcare, and other charitable assistance. Through our continued efforts to respect the well-being of both the mother and the child, we have been honored to accompany countless women and men tempted to choose abortion. We have been privileged as well, through post-abortion healing retreats, to help parents who have chosen abortion to work through the pain they so often suffer.”
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life also applauded the Supreme Court for upholding Mississippi’s law providing protection for the unborn earlier than in past rulings, in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. MCCL also pledged to continue working to assist women in need.
“The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is a monumental victory for unborn children and their mothers and a big step for inclusion and equality under the law,” MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach said. “The Constitution does not mandate abortion-on-demand, as Roe v. Wade falsely claimed. Today’s ruling returns to the American people the ability to decide their own abortion policies, restoring the constitutional separation of powers between the branches of government. Although Dobbs will not cause any immediate change in Minnesota, those of us in the pro-life movement will strive to protect the human rights of human beings in the womb and to support and empower their mothers. We will work harder than ever to love both mother and child.”
In a separate statement, Archbishop Hebda said he felt sorrow and gratitude as the court’s Dobbs decision places abortion laws in the hands of the states. Sorrow because the “violence of abortion is even discussed and debated as a good. How did our hearts become so hardened?
“I am saddened that some pregnant women feel their only option to a happy future involves ending their baby’s life,” the archbishop said. “I am saddened that there are so many people who promote abortion as the only ‘choice,'” and that abortion facilities are “primarily located in areas where people of color live and those women — and their babies — are targeted by an industry that profits from death.”
“But I am so grateful for the majority of Americans — especially our young people — who trust the science and know that we need to love and protect the mother and the baby she carries beneath her heart. That is why I am grateful,” Archbishop Hebda said.
The archbishop said his gratitude extends to all those who for nearly 50 years have supported mothers and fathers, despite verbal and physical assaults and threats. “They have opened their hearts, homes and wallets to care for pregnant and new moms, the dads and their babies, and their extended families.”
“We don’t need more abortion, more death,” the archbishop said. “We need more love, more life!” The archbishop called for continued support of those struggling with unplanned pregnancies, and for society to help meet basic needs such as just wages for workers, education for children, food, shelter and health care.
“We need to give off ourselves — more than our money — to mentor them and journey with them through the wonderful, difficult, joyous messiness of parenthood,” the archbishop said.
Archbishop Hebda and his brother bishops noted that the U.S. bishops have launched a nationwide initiative, Walking with Moms in Need, with a website at walkingwithmoms.com, to create additional avenues of support for mothers by way of Catholic parishes, ministries and crisis pregnancy centers. “We also pledge that our Catholic churches will be a sanctuary for women in crisis pregnancies. Any woman in a crisis pregnancy who comes to the door of a Catholic church in the state of Minnesota seeking assistance will be supported and, at a minimum, referred to resources where she can get help,” the bishops said.
“The Church’s contribution to public life walks with the two feet of justice and charity. Our direct assistance to women in crisis pregnancies through charitable and philanthropic efforts is fundamental in our endeavor to build an authentic culture of life,” they said. “But we also commit to working in our state Legislature to ensure that every child is welcomed in life and respected by the law.”
The bishops noted that Minnesota law is shaped by its own version of Roe v. Wade, in the form of the 1995 Doe v. Gomez decision in which that the state Supreme Court characterized a state right to an abortion as a “broader protection” than Roe, including the right of low-income women to a taxpayer-funded abortion.
“Sadly,” the bishops said, “Gomez is unlikely to be overturned without a change in federal law or a state constitutional amendment.”
Despite Minnesota’s legal landscape, people should continue to find ways to reasonably limit the availability of abortions, especially after viability, the bishops said. The state is one of a few without limits on post-viability abortions, the bishops said.
“We should also put in place, and keep in place, measures to help protect women from further serious injury arising from the risks already involved with an abortion,” the bishops said. “Such protections include, among other things, licensing abortion clinics and requiring that chemical abortions be procured only through a physician.”
The state also should commit resources to ensuring that women have the support they need to choose life, the bishops said. “Some pregnancy centers are supported in part by the state’s Positive Alternatives Grant Program, which promotes healthy pregnancy outcomes and assists pregnant and parenting women develop and maintain family stability and self-sufficiency,” they said.
“In a budget that will reach $60 billion by 2024, our state allocates only $3.375 million for these services, even though the need is much greater. The most recent round of funding requests totaled roughly $6.5 million,” the bishops said.
“The prospect of Roe being overturned has already sharpened partisan division on the abortion question. As bishops, however, we have no interest in engaging as partisans, and we will continue to work to build common ground rooted in the principles articulated above. This is a matter of prenatal justice — giving to both mother and child that which is their due, namely, support and protection.
“But make no mistake: we will rigorously oppose efforts to expand the abortion license in Minnesota and we will work with people on both sides of the aisle to prevent Minnesota from becoming an abortion sanctuary state,” the bishops said.
“Abortion advocates want people to believe that abortion promises liberation, but instead, it leads to sadness, pain, and the death of a human being,” the bishops said. “We ask all Minnesotans to join our efforts to combat a throwaway culture, foster prenatal justice, and create a state where love prevails.”
The bishops’ statement can be read in its entirety here.
Archbishop Hebda’s statement can be read in its entirety here.
Related:
- Supreme Court overturns Roe in anticipated Dobbs decision
- Some excerpts from U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling reversing Roe
- Outside high court, joy, defiance and insults after Roe is struck down
- Prolife Across America director sobs with gratitude after Roe v. Wade overturn
- Abria director: Abortion ruling ‘a step forward’
