DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS
U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
DATE: April 18, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cardinal Welcomes Supreme Court Decision Upholding Federal
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Washington, DC—Cardinal Justin Rigali welcomed the Supreme
Court’s 5-4 decision upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of
2003 in Gonzales v. Carhart.
Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, is Chairman of the Committee for
Pro-Life Activities, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The
full text of his statement follows:
“Today, after a decade of struggle in legislatures and courts, the U.S. Supreme
Court finally upheld a federal law prohibiting the brutal and inhumane
partial-birth abortion procedure. This is the first time in 34 years that the
Court has upheld a ban of any type of abortion.
“The Court’s decision does not affect the legal status of the great majority of
abortions, and does not reverse past decisions claiming to find a right to
abortion in the Constitution. However, it provides reasons for renewed hope and
renewed effort on the part of pro-life Americans. The Court is taking a clearer
and more unobstructed look at the tragic reality of abortion, and speaking about
that reality more candidly, than it has in many years.
“Especially welcome is the Court’s explicit recognition of certain key facts:
that abortion is the taking of a human life, and that government has a
legitimate interest in protecting and preserving this life at every stage; that
'respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the
mother has for her child'; that abortion may also cause grief and sorrow for
women, which is only made worse when the reality of the procedure has been
withheld from them until it is too late; and that the ethical integrity of the
medical profession, as well as the fabric of our society, is threatened by the
acceptance of practices that are difficult to distinguish from infanticide.
“The Court also acknowledges that in some past decisions, the usual rules for
constitutional review were distorted by an unwarranted hostility to legislative
efforts to respect unborn human life. We hope today’s decision marks the
beginning of a new dialogue on abortion, in which fair-minded consideration will
be given to the genuine interests of unborn children and their mothers, to the
need for an ethically sound medical profession, and to society’s desperate need
for a foundation of respect for all human life.”
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