A South Dakota bishop speaks to voters

In September, Rapid City, South Dakota Bishop Blase Cupich issued a pastoral called “Some Considerations Regarding the Abortion Bill Referendum.” That’s Referred Law 6, taken to the people of South Dakota by Planned Parenthood in probably their first ever avoidance of the court to contest a life protection law that bans abortion.

There are so many posts here in the Forum on it, just click on ‘abortion’ category link over on the right, and learn all about it.

Here’s some of what Bishop Cupich had to say to his diocese, about to vote on this law:

The Catholic Church’s longstanding position has been that government must always use its power to protect the rights of each citizen, particularly the most vulnerable. Otherwise, the very foundations of a government based on law are undermined.

Laws are in place requiring the government to speak on behalf of and to protect certain groups of people who are voiceless and vulnerable, such as orphans, the mentally challenged, or those who are unable to mount a legal defense on their own behalf. But when it comes to protecting the unborn, who are the most vulnerable and voiceless, there is a gap in this system of protection.

Cupich says this isn’t just a religous argument.

The issue of abortion is often framed as one of “reproductive rights,” which is a way of distracting from the fact that a child has been conceived whose rights also need to be considered. In reality, this is a human rights issue about protecting human life from conception which is supported by people of all faiths and none. A fundamental moral principle affecting all of society is involved here, not one religion’s dogma.

Additionally, the coming debate on the South Dakota referendum will be immeasurably enriched by a clear and constant recognition that this is not a battle between science and morality or between those who wish to impose their moral views on society and those who do not. Rather, it is essentially a debate about when and how the moral claims of human life should be honored and protected in our society. It is a matter of protecting and promoting the dignity of the human person – in this case, of members of the human family who do not yet have voice of their own.

The debate has arrived, and it’s a full-blown battle in South Dakota. It’s constant, but it’s not clear. The pro-abortion movement has too much at stake, and they want to turn the voters of that state against the best legislation that’s been written since Roe.

They’ll succeed if enough people are fooled. They certainly have the funding and the forces. These folks need all the help they can get.