Repeatedly in recent years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stipulated that āthe threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority.ā In the face of recent election setbacks for abortion opponents, leading bishops and their lay allies are reassessing how to move forward with that stance.
The latest rebuff came Nov. 7 in Ohio, when voters decisively approved a constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. It was the seventh consecutive state where voters decided to protect abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nationwide constitutional right to abortion in June 2022.
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The Ohio result was particularly stinging for abortion opponents, coming in a state where tough anti-abortion measures had been approved by the Republican-controlled legislature.
āToday is a tragic day for women, children, and families in Ohio,ā the stateās Catholic bishops said in a joint statement as the outcome became clear.
āWe must look ahead,ā the bishops added. āDespite the obstacles this amendment presents, the Catholic Church in Ohio will continue to work for policies that defend the most vulnerable, strengthen the child-parent relationship, and support women in need.ā
Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, noted that support for the abortion-rights amendment was particularly strong among younger voters, signaling that it could take many years to build an anti-abortion majority in the stateās electorate. Exit polls suggested that more than 75% of voters aged 18 to 29 backed the amendment.
āHow do we reach this next generation of Ohioans?ā Hickey asked during an interview with The Associated Press. āWe know there is a lot of work to do.ā
The chairman of the U.S. bishopsā Committee on Pro-life Activities, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, recalled how he and his colleagues celebrated 18 months ago after the Supreme Court ā in its so-called Dobbs decision ā struck down the much-debated Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973. The result was to end the nationwide right to abortion, and leave it to individual states to decide whether to ban it or allow it.
āThere was a moment to celebrate, but we also knew it was only a brief moment, because rightfully this issue is back in the states,ā Burbidge said. āThese ballot-measure results are very unsettling.ā
Burbidge said the Catholic leadership needed to convey more clearly that it is āpro-womenā -- even as it supports state legislation aimed at limiting their options regarding unwanted pregnancies.
āNot even our parishioners are aware of all of the support the Catholic Church will give to single moms in need ā counseling, financial assistance, housing ā so mothers know they are being accompanied,ā he told the AP. āWe will be with them every step of the way.ā
āWe look at the results, and they are not favorable,ā Burbidge added. āWe have a good message to convey. ... Even if it hits some more bumps in the road, some disappointments, eventually we believe that what is true, what is just, will triumph.ā
2024 will bring many opportunities for disappointments and triumphs. Abortion is sure to be a key issue in many political contests, and efforts are underway in several states ā including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Nebraska ā to get Ohio-style abortion-rights measures on the ballot.
Burbidge and Hickey said the Catholic leadership, as it moved ahead in the abortion debate, should avoid sounding harsh and punitive. Hickey, for example, suggested that abortion restrictions would receive greater public support if they offered exceptions, perhaps allowing abortions for women impregnated by rape.
āWe need to have those conversations,ā Hickey said. āThe Catholic Church is a place for refuge. Itās not a place for condemnation.ā
Some Catholic abortion opponents favor an aggressive approach, whether or not it sways voter sentiment.
āThe church will never compromise, it cannot compromise. It will always stand for the truth that every single human life is sacred,ā said Brian Burch, president of the conservative advocacy group CatholicVote.
āBut itās very clear the public is completely divided on this,ā he added. āRecent trends show the public is not willing to go where many pro-life entities had hoped to go in the wake of Dobbs."
Burch said state legislatures with anti-abortion majorities should avoid punishing women who get abortions. But he approves of penalties against medical personnel who provide abortions, and favors new laws that could punish people for pressuring a woman to get an abortion.
āThe abortion divide has become more heightened because of Dobbs,ā he said. āThere is no question the Democrats will use the issue next year. Itās a political gamble and I hope theyāre wrong.ā
Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, hopes the Democrats do highlight the issue ā and says abortion opponents should engage head-on in the ensuing debate, rather than skirting the issue.
āWe need an honest debate about abortion ā a debate that starts with a clear, objective and public description of what the abortion procedure is,ā Pavone says in a strategy memo heās distributing to political candidates. āAbortion supporters refuse to describe what they defend ... abortion itself is the last thing they want to talk about.ā
Pavone was a Catholic priest from 1988 until 2022, when the Vatican removed him from the priesthood for āblasphemous communicationsā on social media, and persistent disobedience of his bishop. Over many years, he had drawn attention for partisan political activities that accompanied his anti-abortion activism.
In common with Burbidge, Hickey and Burch, Pavone advocates showing compassion for women considering abortion.
But Catholics who support abortion rights question how this rhetoric can be reconciled with a stance that would deny these women the freedom to choose for themselves how to proceed.
āSolidarity with women ā what does that mean?ā asked Jamie Manson, president of Catholics for Choice.
āWomen do not have equality in the church. Weāre not allowed to lead, to be ordained,ā she said. āI donāt know what āsolidarityā means when you have an entrenched second-class status for women.ā
Manson would like to see a new kind of conversation within Catholic ranks.
āMany Catholic women have had an abortion ā they have a story to tell,ā she said. āWhat Iām hoping and pushing for is for Catholic leaders to listen to why women made that choice and have no regrets.ā
For now, the U.S. bishops conference has signaled it will press ahead with existing strategies on abortion. Last month, a week after the abortion-rights amendment was approved in Ohio, the bishops elected Daniel Thomas, the bishop of Toledo, Ohio, to succeed Burbidge in November 2024 as chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Thomas had forcefully appealed for Ohioans to defeat the amendment, calling it āextreme, dangerous and unacceptable.ā
Manson depicted the election of Thomas as āironic,ā given that Catholic dioceses in Ohio had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars unsuccessfully opposing the amendment.
āThe Catholic bishops are doubling down on their losing abortion strategy through 2024,ā she said. āThe Catholic Church will continue to spend big in elections ā and they will continue to lose.ā
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