Statement of the Missouri Catholic Conference on abortions resuming in Missouri
The following statement is from Missouri’s Roman Catholic bishops, functioning as the officers of the Missouri Catholic Conference, the Church’s public-policy agency in this state.
It is signed by Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis, Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.
We are saddened that abortions will resume in Missouri after the recent judicial ruling that abortion clinics do not need to be licensed by the state. The legalization and deregulation of abortion will harm women, children and families.
The Catholic Church in Missouri will strive to increase advocacy for policies that uphold the dignity of all human life, protect the vulnerable, provide support for those in need and continue to combat the forces behind the culture of death.
For those women and men who have been and will be wounded by abortion, the Church will continue to provide true hope and healing.
We will continue to educate the faithful on the inherent dignity of all, as each individual is a child of God, and endeavor to make resources available to those in need.
We will also work with lawmakers to craft prudent legislation to protect the welfare and dignity of pregnant mothers and their unborn children.
Let us continue to pray and work for a greater recognition of the gift of each and every human life in our society.
