Catholics for Choice Launches New Video Debunking Myth that Catholics Have Always Opposed Abortion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, September 4, 2025
Phone: 202-986-6093
Email: media@catholicsforchoice.org

Catholics for Choice Launches New Video Debunking Myth that Catholics Have Always Opposed Abortion

WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority, released a new short video today to debunk the myth that Catholics have always opposed abortion access.

“As Catholics, we’re taught that abortion and Catholicism are like oil and water: They simply do not mix,” the 1-minute 22-second video begins, followed by an overview of biblical text and key church leaders throughout the past two centuries.

Watch the Video: www.catholicsforchoice.org/change

“This video is a new way for Catholics for Choice is amplifying our central message that church teaching on abortion has changed and is changeable, despite what the hierarchy says,” said Senior Advisor Kate Hoeting, MTS. “It sets the record straight on what Scripture, the saints, and popes have taught about abortion — all subjects that Catholics for Choice and major historians have researched for years. We want as many people as possible to know that being pro-choice does not make you anti-Catholic.”

“Since only 1 in 10 Catholics agree with the church hierarchy on abortion, and 47% of U.S. adults have some connection to Catholicism, we felt it important to create a short, digestible video that introduces these more complex church history topics in a way that is easier to understand,” said Emily Harrison, Digital Engagement Director. “Our hope is that this video and the corresponding toolkit will be valuable tools for all Catholics and reproductive rights advocates to educate their communities and show pro-choice Catholics that they aren’t alone.”

View the Video
Access the Toolkit
Find the video on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky

Key Facts from the Video:

• Anti-abortion Christians claim opposition for abortion comes from the Bible, but Exodus 21:22-24 states, “When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined… If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” The punishment for causing a woman’s death is far more severe than the punishment for causing a pregnancy loss. This passage has led many theologians and biblical scholars to conclude that biblical law does not consider ending a pregnancy to be murder.
• The fifth-century woman now known as St. Brigid of Kildare was serving as the abbess of an Irish convent when one of the nuns became pregnant. According to Catholic tradition, St. Brigid exercised the strength of her faith, blessed the woman, and caused the fetus to disappear.
• The 12th-century herbalist, theologian, and nun St. Hildegard of Bingen included information about herbal abortions in her medical textbooks. For example, she recommended bathing in tansy to “restart menstruation” and wrote that wild ginger could save lives by ending dangerous pregnancies.
• In 1588, Pope Sixtus V was the first pope to publicly equate abortion with homicide when he published his papal bull Effraenatam. But just three years later, Pope Gregory XIV refuted the statement’s claims about fetal development because they departed from church teaching.
• In 1869, Pope Pius IX issued a papal bull updating the penal code for Catholics and included that abortion was murder at any stage, punishable by excommunication. This constituted a major reversal of church doctrine that has been used to condemn and shame pro-choice Catholics with no regard for the history of church teaching on this issue.

“This video highlights only a few examples of the ways church teaching on abortion has evolved over the years, and this video and slate of research will serve as a welcome addition to the library of content for all people fighting religious overreach into our politics,” said Catholics for Choice Interim President Chris Wimbush. “I urge our partners to leverage these resources on social media, in presentations, and in any spaces where abortion rights and religious views are being discussed. We cannot allow the assumption that abortion and Catholicism are incompatible to go unchecked.”

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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.