Catholics for Choice Leads Faith-Based Amicus Brief in Major Supreme Court Abortion Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 24, 2021
Contact: John Becker, Communications Specialist
Phone: (202) 203-0931
Email: jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice Leads Faith-Based Amicus Brief in Major Supreme Court Abortion Case
WASHINGTON – Today Catholics for Choice, which uplifts and amplifies the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom, issued the following statement from President Jamie L. Manson after filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to Mississippi’s unconscionable and blatantly unconstitutional 15-week abortion ban before the Supreme Court:
“This week, Catholics for Choice sent a powerful message to the Supreme Court on behalf of countless people of faith who support the right of every person to access comprehensive, affordable, compassionate, and equitable abortion care. Alongside the National Council of Jewish Women and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, we were honored to lead a robust and diverse group of 54 faith-based organizations in urging the justices to declare Mississippi’s pre-viability abortion ban unconstitutional. Our brief adds a unique perspective, grounded in our religious and moral values, to the broader coalition of reproductive justice organizations, lawmakers, the Biden administration, and legal and medical groups supporting Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi.
“With basic human rights and access to essential healthcare across the country at stake, it is no exaggeration to say that the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson could radically alter or even eliminate abortion access in the United States for years to come. As Catholics, the Mississippi ban deeply concerns us ‘because it fails to account for the diversity of views within and across religious traditions regarding when and how life begins, the moral implications of terminating a pregnancy, and who is properly empowered to make such determinations.’ To us, the answer is simple: every individual is a moral agent who must have the capacity, right, and responsibility to make decisions about their body, family, and future according to their own conscience and circumstances.
“We call on the justices, particularly those who so proudly proclaim their Catholic faith and commitment to the Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom, to carefully consider the arguments made in our brief and to uphold nearly fifty years of precedent affirming the right to access abortion care. Regardless of their decision, we will continue our work to move beyond the legal right enshrined in Roe v. Wade to a world where abortion and the full range of sexual and reproductive healthcare is actually available to all who need it, in whatever setting and at whatever time they choose.”
Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.
