Massachusetts abortion law ‘horrendous,’ top Catholic bishop says

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

The head of the U.S. bishops is criticizing the state of Massachusetts for what he said was its “shocking” decision to remove any limits to abortion there.

State Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill into law on Aug. 10 making Massachusetts the 11th state to impose no limits on abortion. The law removes all of the state’s restrictions on abortion, leaving the decision to perform a late-term abortion up to the “judgment of the physician” carrying it out.

Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the decision “shocking” and “horrendous.”

“Itʼs an affront against the dignity of life,” he said in an interview on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Aug. 13.

“I hope it will not stand, but weʼll see,” the archbishop added, describing the decision as “a shocking blow to the pro-life movement and to everyone whoʼs concerned about the dignity and sanctity of human life.”

Meanwhile, the political advocacy group CatholicVote is calling for the excommunication of Healey, who is Catholic.

CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt said in a letter that CatholicVote believes that Healey is an “accomplice” to the procurement of abortions by signing the law. Reinhardt added that the signing caused “scandal” and “was not a private sin.”

“The logic of medicinal punishment is ancient and coherent and teaches that you do not withhold medicine from a sick person to protect their feelings,” Reinhardt wrote. “You administer it because you love them and because you take their illness seriously. Governor Healey is a Catholic in a state of grave sin. She has publicly and now legislatively cooperated in the destruction of innocent human life.”

“Governor Healey did not sign this legislation reluctantly or with any expression of the gravity of what she was authorizing,” Reinhardt said. “She signed it at a celebratory public event. She was met with applause. The ceremony was festive.”

When asked about calls for Healey’s excommunication, Coakley said that the law constitutes a “scandal” but that the matter is between the governor and her bishop.

“Itʼs an affront against the teaching of the Church,” Coakley said of the law. “But truly, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or any episcopal conference really does not have that kind of authority” to excommunicate Healey.

“This is really a matter that will have to be addressed between the governor and her bishop and the bishops of Massachusetts,” Coakley continued.

The Massachusetts Catholic bishops decried the bill before it was signed, saying that the “elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgment, a radical measure which is gravely immoral.”

Pro-lifers praise attorney general for pledging to review mail-order abortion

Pro-life advocates are praising then-Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche for his promise to review the legality of sending abortion pills through the U.S. mail.

During his confirmation hearing on July 15, Blanche pledged to review the Comstock Act, a law already on the books that prohibits the mailing of abortion-related materials. If enforced, the law would halt mail-order abortions.

An Aug. 7 letter signed by 35 pro-life leaders commended Blanche for his promise to “carefully evaluate” the law and whether or not it is being properly enforced.

Lawsuit against Virginia abortion amendment rises to appeals court

A lawsuit against a Virginia state constitutional amendment to establish an unlimited right to abortion is currently before a state appeals court.

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit Christian legal group, said on Aug. 13 that it had appealed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia about a court order dismissing a legal challenge to the ballot measure.

The lawsuit argues that the Virginia government neglected proper legal processes for proposed amendments, rendering the abortion amendment itself  ineligible for inclusion on the ballot.