Where abortion is on the ballot, Catholic bishops issue calls for action
Caroline MolloyAs Election Day nears and early voting begins, several Catholic bishops are issuing urgent requests to voters, calling on them to oppose sweeping abortion amendments on the ballot in their states. If passed, these measures would make it extremely difficult or impossible to enact pro-life laws.
In Colorado, where abortion is already legal through all nine months of pregnancy, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila is optimistic that Amendment 79 can be defeated, saying: “We have a path to victory” through prayer and action.
The Colorado amendment would modify the state constitution to explicitly ban any restrictions or impediments on the “right to abortion” or health insurance coverage for abortion.
To Aquila, as well as many other bishops, it’s a matter of getting the word out about just how far these amendments go. In an open letter published on Sept. 27, Aquila pointed out that recent polling suggested that if more Coloradans knew how much the amendment would expand abortion, support would fall to 47%, well below the 55% threshold needed for the measure to pass.
