Top Ten: Catholics for Choice in 2023
As a pro-choice Catholic, I followed Catholics for Choice for nearly a decade before I joined the team at the end of 2022. Like many of our supporters, my spirit ached for a place where—as a queer, feminist woman—I could demystify a faith steeped in social justice amid a hierarchy intent on keeping sexual and reproductive healthcare unjust.
During my first full year on the team, not a day has gone by where this beautifully complex work has felt “easy.” Yet, it is an understatement to say that I am amazed. In 2023, CFC was able to move our mission into action in ways never before achieved. Will you help us celebrate these wins with a gift today?
While anti-choice groups gathered outside a Planned Parenthood health center in Washington, D.C., for a “prayer service,” CFC displayed banners across the facility, proclaiming that “most people of faith support legal abortion,” and “Catholics support abortion providers, abortion seekers, and abortion access.” CFC also disseminated guerilla street art along the route of the so-called “March for Life” to draw attention to the truth about Catholic support of pro-choice issues.
In February, CFC met with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales and hosted an educational dinner for legislators on the intersection of faith and reproductive freedom. CFC also hosted trainings and workshops in the state and published an open letter cosigned by 120 New Mexican faith leader
In the same week that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six week abortion ban into law, CFC hit the ground in the Sunshine State. We spent two days in Tallahassee facilitating pro-choice interfaith advocacy and conversation with 35 legislators and a half-dozen partners.
In recognition of the anniversary of when Roe v. Wade was overturned, CFC launched the “I Am a Catholic for Choice” campaign. We spent June and July emboldening Catholics and people of faith to be outspoken about their pro-choice beliefs and distributed thousands of pro-choice pledge cards across the country.
In the fall, CFC invested in Ohio by hiring a Field Organizer to help meet the pressing demands of our expertise ahead of the vote on Issue 1. In the weeks leading up to the election, we blanketed the Buckeye State with 47 pro-choice Catholic billboards, helping to push Issue 1 to victory!
As part of our activities at the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), CFC hosted 40 in-person CSW attendees and almost 800 virtual viewers for “How the Catholic Church Uses ‘Gender Ideology’ to Threaten Human Rights.” Additionally, on the eve of International Women’s Day, we posted signage and projected our Catholic pro-choice message on St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the home church of Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
CFC received significant media attention throughout the year, including a feature in The Guardian, commentary on Democracy Now, coverage of our work with Congress in Religion News Service, podcast guest spots on “Alyssa Milano: Sorry not Sorry” and Crooked Media’s “Hysteria,” and much more.
In early May, Jamie testified in a landmark hearing in front of the Food and Drug Administration in support of making Opill, an oral contraceptive, available over the counter. Catholics for Choice was the only faith-based organization invited to testify!
CFC counter demonstrated the “Red Mass,” which unofficially kicks off the start of a new Supreme Court term. Our “Green Mass,” was celebrated by Roman Catholic Womanpriest Rev. Angela Meyer, and served as a public witness to make it clear that we see the church’s crusade to influence the Supreme Court as a terrible injustice.
In a powerful and dramatic pair of actions at the Synod on Synodality in Rome, Jamie unfurled a massive banner off the Ponte Sant’Angelo — with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background — boldly proclaiming that “Faithful Catholics Have Abortions.” Immediately after the banner drop, CFC ceremonially processed to the synod office with a booklet of stories collected from faithful Catholics who’ve had abortions.
I cannot put into words how much good our success has done for my spirit, but I can put into words how it makes me feel: grateful. As you consider making a gift before the end of the year, I hope that these milestones and memories remind you of something deeply important: You are an integral part of our mission.