Roman Catholic Bishops Statement on Abortion Expansion

The unborn child is a human life that must be protected. That precious child has no voice to protect itself from the evils of abortion. The Catholic Church recognizes that it has a primary moral responsibility to speak for the most vulnerable among us – the unborn. That responsibility is at the center of the Catholic moral vision. Because of its centrality, the Church must oppose the directly intended taking of human life through abortion at any stage of pregnancy. It is a serious moral wrong and directly undercuts our unyielding goal to promote the common good throughout a civil society.

We are deeply disappointed by the failure of the Massachusetts legislature to uphold Governor Baker’s veto of legislation which further expands access to abortion in the Commonwealth beyond 24 weeks of pregnancy.  The new legislation also reduces from 18 to 16 years old the requirement for a teenager to have the benefit of adult counsel (parental or judicial) prior to seeking an abortion.

With the issue of abortion at the forefront of our ministries, we recommit ourselves to defend life from conception to natural death. Our commitment to human dignity also includes strongly opposing capital punishment and physician assisted suicide, but it does not end there. We will also continue to defend life by protecting immigrants and refugees seeking our assistance, by serving the poor in our communities and by a constant appeal to others in our society to see the fragile ties which hold us together as a civil community.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap.

Archbishop of Boston                                                      

Most Reverend Robert J. McManus

Bishop of Worcester

Most Reverent Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV                           

Bishop of Fall River                                                       

Most Reverend William D. Byrne

Bishop of Springfield