Decision day coming

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

All eyes are on the U.S. Supreme Court as the nation awaits its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks.

Last week, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the chairmen of eight of its committees joined together “in prayer and expectant hope that states will again be able to protect women and children from the injustice of abortion.”

“As we affirm the value of every human life, we welcome the possibility of saving countless unborn children as well as sparing women and families the pain of abortion,” they said in a statement released March 21.

If the court’s ruling in Dobbs, expected in June or early July, overturns the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, it will leave abortion to the states.

That reality has created a flurry of legislation in some states to codify Roe in their laws, like pro-abortion Gov. Phil Murphy (D) did in New Jersey, while other states, like Texas, Idaho, Arizona, and Oklahoma have protected life in the womb with legislation similar to the Mississippi law.

In Texas, where the Heartbeat Act has been law since last September, the number of abortions performed fell by more than 58 percent from the year prior.

Disturbingly, pro-abortion advocates are reacting to this life-saving legislation. After some states recently passed restrictive abortion laws, most notably in Texas, Citigroup, a multinational investment bank, decided to finance abortions for women employees seeking to abort their child out-of-state. It told its shareholders this month, who will meet April 26, what the new policy entails. “In response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources.”

And MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, revealed last week that she has donated $275 million to the Planned Parenthood Federa­tion of America, the nation’s largest provider of abortions.

Pro-abortion advocates have the firepower and financial means to make sure abortions continue unabated in many states, even if the upcoming Supreme Court decision nullifies Roe v. Wade. Since abortion was legalized, more than 65 million children in the womb have died.

That’s why the USCCB statement is so important to the pro-live movement because it recommits the USCCB and its various resources and ministries to protect pregnant women and the children in their womb while also urging dioceses, parishes, agencies, and institutions to do the same.

“We proclaim a vision for our society that upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable — a society in which the legal protection of human life is accompanied by profound care for mothers and their children,” the bishops said.

“We exhort our nation to prioritize the well-being of women, children, and families with both material resources and personal accompaniment so that no woman ever feels forced to choose between her future and the life of her child,” they added.

We urge all who believe in the sanctity of life to read the statement and then do whatever they can to help pregnant women choose life. For the USCCB statement, go to https://www.usccb.org