US bishops call for nationwide prayer and action amid rising abortion rate

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Catholic bishops issued a nationwide call to prayer and action July 27 over the rising abortion rate and the increased availability of an abortion-inducing drug.

“Every abortion involves the death of a child and harm to the mother. Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote in a joint announcement of the call to prayer and action.

A federal policy permitting distribution of mifepristone, sometimes called the abortion pill, by mail that was first issued by the Biden administration has thus far been left in place by the second Trump administration.

The Department of Justice, under the current Trump administration, has sought to block state challenges to the policy pending a promised safety review by the Food and Drug Administration. But the status and timeline of the FDA review are unclear.

Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Thomas wrote the FDA “has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry by allowing abortion pills to be prescribed in telehealth appointments and sold both at neighborhood pharmacies and online, circumventing state laws that protect life in the womb.”

“This leaves women vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision,” they said. “It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”

The bishops said that now through the end of October, when the Church in the U.S. marks Respect Life Month, “the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities is inviting Catholics to join a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of abortion pills.”

They urged Catholics to seek “the intercession of St. Joseph, Defender of Life” as well as to send messages to pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies that are involved.

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