Catholic bishops slam California’s plan to become a ‘sanctuary’ for abortion

0

LOS ANGELES — California’s Catholic bishops have criticized a new plan approved by Governor Gavin Newsom to make the state a “sanctuary” for legal abortion if Roe vs. Wade is overturned.

“When families are struggling to put food on the table and pay rent, it is absurd for the state to focus on expanding abortion when families’ real needs for basic necessities are not being met,” said Kathleen Buckley Domingo, executive director of the Catholic Association of California. Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.

“California doesn’t need more abortions. It must support women and help them be the mothers they want to be,” she said in a Dec. 9 statement.

The report, titled “Recommendations to Protect, Strengthen and Expand Abortion Care in California,” was released by the California Future of Abortion Council, a group of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, led by Planned Parenthood and summoned by Newsom, according to the Associated Press.

“We will be a sanctuary,” Newsom told the PA in an interview about the proposal.

The groups’ 45 recommendations include using taxpayer dollars to help pay for travel, accommodation, childcare and abortion procedures for women who come from outside the State to get an abortion in California.

Domingo noted that none of the group’s recommendations consider alternatives to abortion and there is no discussion of the factors that drive women to have abortions.

She said the groups’ plan would also violate “protecting the conscience of medical students by forcing them to be trained in abortion procedures” in order to receive scholarships, and force Catholic hospitals to offer abortions or close. their doors.

The report came a week after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for and against upholding a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which the law considers the fetal viability; in other words, when it is said to be able to survive on its own.

During the Dec. 1 arguments, the majority of the justices appeared willing to leave the ban in place, though analysts said the justices appeared uncertain whether to overturn Roe v. Wade or limit the extent to which it guarantees a legal right to abortion on the national level.

A decision on the case is expected in late spring or summer 2022.

“As more and more states in the United States move towards restricting abortion, California seems to be able to speak only of increased access,” said Domingo, who reaffirmed the bishops’ support for “solutions violence to issues facing women,” such as affordable health care, paid family leave, and resources offered by more than 150 pregnancy care centers in California.

“In a state as diverse as California, with a budget surplus of $31 billion, why don’t we explore options that truly empower women instead of encouraging the ‘quick fix’ of abortion, which does nothing to address the underlying issues,” Domingo said.

Angelus is the online media of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Share.

Comments are closed.