Catholics for Choice Displays a “Mary Had a Choice” Billboard Outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore

Catholics for Choice Displays a “Mary Had a Choice” Billboard Outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore

WASHINGTON  — Catholics for Choice, which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority, released the following statement from Manuela Tironi, Senior Advisor, announcing their billboard campaign outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly:

“From November 10-13, 2025, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will meet to discuss, among other things, changes to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), the religiously based restrictions that govern all Catholic health facilities. Outside the meeting venue, our billboard reminds the bishops of a simple, yet powerful truth: Mary had a choice.

Placing Catholic doctrine above the expertise of medical doctors, the ERDs ban or severely restrict abortion care, birth control, emergency contraception, In Vitro Fertilization, end-of-life care, and gender affirming care. At this meeting, the bishops could further expand these restrictions, even though they severely limit the spectrum of sexual and reproductive healthcare available to patients. Because Catholic hospitals provide one in six hospital beds, ERD restrictions affect everyone, not just Catholic patients.

On June 16, 2023, the USCCB unanimously voted to revise the Catholic healthcare restrictions to begin the process of banning gender-affirming care. The bishops’ changes to the ERDs could codify anti-trans theology into the directives that control approximately 650 hospitals and 1,600 healthcare facilities across the United States. Whether a patient is choosing to give birth or to receive gender-affirming care, bishops have no place in the exam room.

When Angel Gabriel visited Mary, which is called the Annunciation, Mary explicitly decided to accept the pregnancy (Luke 1:35-38). In this moment, before Christ’s conception, God offered Mary the gift of bodily autonomy. She chose to carry and give birth to Christ. Mary’s testimony “Let it be” (γένοιτό) underscores the power of her consent. Her ‘yes’ falls in line with the definition of reproductive justice — having the ability to choose if, when, and how to start a family. Mary chose to become pregnant at that moment in her life. A loving God would never force someone to give birth against their will, and the bishops shouldn’t either.

As a Catholic organization, Catholics for Choice is uniquely positioned to challenge restrictions that limit medical judgment and patient autonomy. Our faith calls us to trust people, and their doctors, to make decisions guided by conscience.

Mary’s ‘yes’ exemplifies the power of reproductive freedom. Just as Mary had a choice, every person should be able to make deeply personal decisions about their health with dignity and compassion.”

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Catholics for Choice — which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority — encounters, educates, and emboldens people of faith who support reproductive freedom.