Abortion

Statements from the Vatican

• Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life)
  Pope John Paul II, 1995

• Declaration on Procured Abortion Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1974

Statements from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops

• Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, November 14, 2007

• Abortion and the Supreme Court: Advancing the Culture of Death
  National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000

• Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics
  A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States
  1998

• Light and Shadows: Our Nation 25 Years After Roe v. Wade
  A Statement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1997

• Faithful For Life: A Moral Reflection
  A Statement from the U.S. Bishops, 1995

• Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities: A Reaffirmation
  National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001

• Press Releases regarding Abortion News from the NCCB

• "Respect Life" Program Archives from USCCB (1996 - present) Contains dozens of educational resoources and liturgical suggestions from the annual USCCB "Respect Life" program related to many critical concerns of the day - abortion, euthanasia, marriage and family life, capital punishment, poverty, immigration issues, chastity, natural family planning, post-abortion healing and reconciliation, the culture of life, biotechnology, children, teens, persons with disabilities, the elderly, those who are dying.

Jesus's parable about the Good Samaritan invites reflection on what it means to be a neighbor to a pregnant woman in need and the unborn life within her. Cardinal Terrence Cooke and Archbishop John Roach's 1983 Congressional testimony in support of the Hatch Amendment and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' 1995 pastoral letter "Faithful for Life" draw attention to this parable in relationship to the tragedy of abortion in the United States. In light of this parable one might ask: What unmet needs lead women to consider abortion? How are American Catholics specifically, and society more generally, responding to these needs?

In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church in the United States responded to the efforts to reform, or even repeal, laws prohibiting abortion. In responding to this "sign of the times," the Catholic Church expressed its concern for both pregnant women in need and the unborn. In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court found both restrictive abortion laws and reformed abortion laws unconstitutional in its Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, respectively. As a result of these decisions, the unborn lack legal protection from abortion and pregnant women in need are more isolated from social support during pregnancy. The Catholic Church's response to this situation has included legislative activity in response to the needs of the unborn and pastoral activity in response to the needs of women in crisis pregnancies and those who have had abortions. In the Archdiocese of Boston, Pregnancy Help ministers to pregnant women in need and Project Rachel ministers to those hurting from past abortions.