We can’t remain silent: CTA condemns overturning Roe v. Wade
In response to the shocking news that the Supreme Court may completely overturn Roe v. Wade this summer, CTA releases the following statement. We acknowledge that this statement may startle our members and supporters. However, we can no longer pretend that the politicization of abortion—and its separation from all issues related to healthcare and a consistent ethic of life—doesn’t have damaging effects on our communities. This most recent, devastating news represents another turn toward state-sponsored violence, racism, and misogyny in the United States. We invite Catholics to lean into the conversation. We cannot remain silent.
Full Statement:
On May 2, POLITICO shared a leaked draft of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which the Supreme Court fully overturns Roe v. Wade. If this decision is official, legal access to pregnancy terminations, at any point in the pregnancy and under any circumstance, will no longer be federally protected. This alleged decision also grants states the authority to criminalize abortion. Nearly 50 years of legal protection of abortion will be undone, with disastrous, life-threatening ramifications for millions of people and their families.
CTA strongly condemns overturning Roe v. Wade. We affirm that all Americans should have access to safe, legal and affordable abortion care without discrimination, harassment, or fear for their physical wellbeing.
This alleged decision to overturn Roe v. Wade goes against the beliefs of the majority of American Catholics. More than half of US Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. We also know that Catholics have abortions: Nearly 25 percent of abortion patients identify as Catholic. That means 1 in 4 abortion patients is Catholic. Justices Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, and Gorsuch, as well as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, are in the minority of Catholics.
If Roe is overturned, abortion will likely be banned in 26 states. In 13 states, total abortion bans would take effect immediately: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. States such as Texas and Oklahoma have recently enacted bounty-hunter laws that allow citizens to sue physicians, clinic workers, patients, and even patients’ friends and families for providing, seeking, and supporting abortion care.
If Roe is overturned, same-gender marriage, interracial marriage, and civil rights are next. Abortion happens in context; it’s no mistake that the same states outlawing abortion are also rolling back voting rights for Black, Indigenous people of color. Alito makes it clear in his opinion that he and his fellow justices doubt the legitimacy of the 14th Amendment and other Supreme Court decisions granting rights to people of color, women, and the queer and trans community. If Alito’s opinion stands, then the rulings in Obergefell v. Hodges (same-gender marriage), Lawrence v. Texas (criminalizing sexual and intimate behaviors of queer people), Loving v. Virginia (interracial marriage), and Griswold v. Connecticut (contraception) are in danger.
Supporting abortion care is a Catholic value. Abortion bans and restrictions have never been about morality, public health, or the family. Without abortion rights safeguarded at both the state and federal level, physicians, healthcare workers, and patients will be fined and imprisoned. Those seeking abortion will be harmed mentally, spiritually, financially, and physically.
Protecting reproductive healthcare is not just about legal rights. Abortion restrictions negatively impact poor and working-class people, people of color, disabled people, and other marginalized communities. Abortion restrictions also impede medical care, turning exam rooms and health clinics into sites of political controversy. Patients at Catholic hospitals are already blocked from receiving pregnancy terminations, even for medically necessary and life-saving reasons, and forced to seek care at other healthcare facilities; however, in many parts of the United States, Catholic hospitals may be the only healthcare providers in the region. Patients seeking miscarriage management have already been arrested and charged with felonies. Legislators have made moves to ban telemedicine abortion and access to abortion pills, which will result in more arrests.
Reproductive justice is social justice — especially in a post-Roe America. The time to take action and stand in solidarity is now. Join us and our allied organizations in discerning how to ensure that access to abortion care is available to all and support healthcare providers who risk their lives on a daily basis to provide abortion care. As Catholics, we validate the experiences of those who, guided by their conscience, terminate pregnancies; and we pledge to support those on the frontlines of abortion care.
We call on Catholics to take action. In this possible post-Roe reality, it is crucial to learn from our allied organizations and educate ourselves on abortion mutual aid. Here are some steps Catholics can take:
Support faith-based reproductive justice organizations. Catholics for Choice, Reproductive Coalition for Reproductive Choice, SisterSong, National Council of Jewish Women, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, and Faith Aloud are all organizations led by people of faith—including clergy!
Donate to an abortion fund in your state. The majority of US states block their residents from receiving Medicaid funding for pregnancy terminations. Abortion bans mean patients have to travel across state lines for a legal pregnancy termination. Abortion funds exist to help those who need monetary support for travel, lodging, or the cost of the procedure. The National Network of Abortion Funds has a database of every abortion fund in the United States.
Donate to an independent abortion clinic. Most pregnancy terminations occur in independent health clinics, not hospitals or Planned Parenthood centers. These clinics need funds to operate in the wake of these costly legal battles. Visit Abortion Care Network for ways to donate and get involved.
Volunteer to be a clinic escort in your community. Harassment outside abortion clinics has been ongoing for decades. Consider becoming trained as a clinic escort at a local clinic to protect patients entering and exiting the facility.
Educate yourself about self-managed abortion. It’s true that banning abortion results in more serious injury and deaths. However, self-managed abortion can be very safe with the right materials! Visit Abortion On Your Own Terms, a new website hosted by a coalition of reproductive health organizations, for more education on how to safely conduct a self-managed abortion.
Be ready to take action. If Roe v. Wade falls, we must be prepared to practice civil disobedience: drive people across state lines so they can receive abortion care, help transport abortion pills, and provide resources to those who need self-managed abortions so they can do so safely.
