WASHINGTON (CNS) – As the Jan. 22 anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision approached, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities urged everyone concerned about “the tragedy of abortion” to recommit themselves to a “vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one.”
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York also called on Catholics to participate in a new “9 Days for Life” campaign launched by the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a Jan. 16-24 novena, which has as its overarching intention the end to abortion, according to the website 9daysforlife.com. Details about the campaign also are explained in a YouTube video: http://youtu.be/gxJwfcefUiU.
The campaign makes use of something the founders of the pro-life movement decades ago would never have imagined: social media. The novena is meant to be shared with the online community through social media posts, videos and selfies labeled #9DaysforLife.
Each day’s prayer guide – in English or Spanish – can be accessed through an app, email or text message and people can follow the novena campaign on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Those taking part can express why they are involved in the pro-life movement and what it means to them and receive daily email messages or texts reminding them to pray and providing suggested readings.
In addition to a prayer to end abortion, there also is a focus on a wide range of life issues. Participants are urged to discuss these issues and even are provided discussion topics and activities.
A “Leaders’ Toolkit” with various resources and graphics is available for parishes, schools, dioceses, ministries and other organizations to use to promote involvement in the campaign. It can be accessed via this link: tinyurl.com/j6lrmqc.
“Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason – though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us,” Cardinal Dolan said in a statement released Jan. 15.
The Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions in 1973 legalized abortion virtually on demand.
“Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children,” he continued. “Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as ‘pro-life,’ a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others.”
Cardinal Dolan said that “even as Americans remain troubled by abortion,” what he described as a powerful and well-funded lobby feels “that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a ‘war on women.’”
He expressed regret that in 2015 Congress did not pass into law the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, which would have protected medical workers’ right to decline to participate in elective abortions because of their religious or moral objections.
“While this is disturbing,” the cardinal said, “it is also an opportunity.”
Pro-lifers should reach out to “the great majority of Americans” who are “open to hearing a message of reverence for life. … We who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers,” he said.
“A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being,” he added.
The cardinal also said the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis is a time for women and men to find healing through the Catholic Church’s Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.
Meanwhile, a new report released in Washington, D.C., indicates that both the number of abortions and the rate of abortion is dropping, according to the third annual “State of Abortion in America” report issued by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC).
The number of abortions, which had peaked at about 1.6 million in 1989, is now down to 1 million, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics quoted in the report, which was issued Jan. 14.
The abortion rate for all women of child-bearing age is now down to 210 abortions per 1,000 live births.
The number of abortions performed at Planned Parenthood clinics, though, is up 250 percent in the same time period, according to Carol Tobias, NRLC president. The rate, Tobias added, has remained “relatively steady the last three years,” although the numbers have dropped for other services Planned Parenthood provides at its clinics.
Tobias characterized Planned Parenthood’s revenues as “steady abortion income and a cool half-billion in income from state and federal governments.”
One of NRLC’s priorities is government defunding of Planned Parenthood. President Barack Obama vetoed a bill that would have eliminated Planned Parenthood’s eligibility to receive federal grants.
“This is the first time now that the Congress has actually approved legislation to defund Planned Parenthood,” said Douglas Johnson, NRLC’s legislative director. “The procedural pathway has been set. The only thing lacking now is a pro-life president.”
Johnson said the current Congress is “a pro-life Congress.” He cited 10 House roll-call votes and four Senate roll-call votes, all of which had garnered a majority of pro-life votes. He added none of the Senate votes met the threshold to override a presidential veto of the defunding measure.
That would apply to a scheduled Jan. 26 vote in the House to override Obama’s veto. “That veto is going to be sustained,” Johnson predicted.
The “State of Abortion” report noted that for 2012, the last year for which statistics are available, “more than one in five… abortions performed at eight weeks gestation or earlier were listed as ‘medical’ abortions by the CDC.” “Medical,” the report added, “is code for chemical,” frequently “morning-after” drugs.
In the 36 states that report the marital status of women undergoing abortions, “married women accounted for just 14.7 percent of abortions,” the report said, “with 85.3 percent of aborting women being unmarried.”
“One exception to the 2012 statistical overview is the number of women dying from a legal abortion, the last year for which statistics are available is 2011. That year, two women died, compared to 10 in 2010. Since the 1973 Supreme Court decisions permitting abortion virtually on demand, 424 women have died in abortions, according to “The State of Abortion.”
“The biggest toll, though, Tobias said, is the number of babies aborted, which she put at 58 million since the joint Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton rulings. In addition to the unborn children, Tobias cited “the lasting impact the abortion had on the mothers of these children.”
“Even with lower rates, about 1 million abortions are still performed annually in the United States, Tobias said. That reflects a 4.2 percent drop from year-before levels.
“We know ultimately we will be successful,” she said. “The immutable truth: Killing unborn children is wrong.”