US bishops call Catholics to prayer, action against abortion pills
Caroline MolloyThe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) formally launched a nationwide campaign Aug. 18 calling Catholics to pray, educate others, and advocate against the growing availability of abortion pills, the latest step in the bishops’ push to curb chemical abortion in the post-Dobbs era.
The USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities said the initiative will continue through Oct. 31, encompassing Respect Life Month, which the Catholic Church observes each October.
“Every abortion involves the death of a child and harm to the mother,” Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the USCCB, and Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in a joint invitation.
“Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” the bishops added.
Participants are encouraged to seek the intercession of St. Joseph under the title “Defender of Life,” learn and share information about abortion pills, and send messages to pharmacies, distributors, and pharmaceutical companies involved in their distribution through the Respect Life Prayer and Action campaign.
The bishops said in the invitation that Food and Drug Administration policies allowing abortion pills to be prescribed through telehealth appointments and distributed through pharmacies and online have created a “nationwide mail-order abortion industry” that can circumvent state pro-life laws.
“This leaves women vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision,” Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Thomas said. “It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”
As Zeale News previously reported, Bishop Thomas first announced plans for the campaign in June while marking the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
“The victory of the Dobbs decision risks being undone by the massive influx of abortion pills,” Bishop Thomas said at the time. “While the Dobbs decision gave states the freedom to pass pro-life laws and protect preborn children, these laws are now being undermined.”
