Respect Life

On Sept. 18, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called Catholics to “radical solidarity” with vulnerable pregnant women in a letter titled “Living Radical Solidarity” issued ahead of the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Respect Life Month this October.

Cardinal Cupich said Cardinal Bernardin believed that the spectrum of life cuts across many issues, including genetics, abortion, capital punishment, modern warfare and the care of the terminally ill. Nonetheless, all these diverse issues are rooted in a single principle of Catholic faith: that the loss of even one human life is a momentous event.

According to the National Library of Medicine, an estimated 26 percent of all pregnancies, and up to 10 percent of clinically recognized pregnancies, end in miscarriage, the loss of pregnancy less than 20-weeks gestation.

When the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld life-affirming legislation Aug. 23 with a 4-1 decision declaring as constitutional the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, it breathed new life into the pro-life movement in the Palmetto State.

Florida’s Gov. Ron Desantis, on behalf of Florida’s citizens, has signed six warrants for execution since Jan. 24. Five men have died at the hands of the state since then. Michael Duane Zack, 54, is scheduled for execution Oct. 3.

Florida’s Catholic bishops Sept. 16 alerted the faithful to an “extremely grave initiative” underway in their state that “seeks to erase pro-life protections by banning government regulation of abortion in our state constitution.”