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Humanity’s salvation history was forever
changed when a poor, devout Jewish girl
from Galilee affirmatively said yes to life and
set in motion the birth, ministry, sacrificial death
and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Mary’s fiat (“Thy will be done.”) was
a gift of love to humanity, given freely in spite
of her inability to know all that would entail,
but with more faith in the Lord than fear of
the unknown. In this month of Mary, we have
an opportunity to reflect on her example, even
as Americans grapple with gathering societal
unrest over the issue of abortion
“Any woman – regardless
of age, religious belief or
affiliation, marital status or
immigration status – who
is pregnant and in need,
can come to the Catholic
Church and we will give you
the services and supports
you need to carry your baby
to term, regardless of your
ability to pay.”
Since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision
in Roe v. Wade effectively opened the door
to abortion on demand throughout the land,
an estimated 63 million unborn babies across
the country have been killed in the womb
before they could even draw their first breath
of air. As we await a decision on Dobbs v.
Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the
recently argued Supreme Court case that could
potentially overturn Roe, we pray for a positive
outcome even as we acknowledge that abortion
in New York would continue unfettered, and
even be actively promoted as a social good by
many elected officials. Sadly, New York, which
legalized abortion three years before the Roe
decision, has long been the abortion capital of
the country, a tragic and sobering distinction.
Through the years, advocates for legal
abortion have skillfully framed the narrative as
one of “choice,” and “reproductive freedom,”
completely ignoring the biological reality of
what abortion is: the intentional killing of an
innocent child in the womb. Even as sonogram
technology and advances in neonatal medicine
clearly show us the truth that what is being
“terminated” is a human life, the pro-abortion
movement refuses to address the science. The
abortion industry has been so successful in its
messaging that the right to abortion has become
inextricably linked to the notion of women’s
rights and equality for a significant portion of
the country, which is why the prospect of a
nation without Roe has led to fear and anxiety
for many people.
Millions of our fellow Americans – even, it
must be said, many of our fellow Catholics –
have succumbed to this false notion, and we must
respond to it in charity and with sensitivity, but
with clarity. The fears and anxieties of a young
woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy
are valid. She is likely terrified. She may be
overwhelmed with a plethora of legitimate
questions: How will she provide for her other
children with another baby on the way? Will the
father abandon her? Will she be able to continue
her education? Where will she and her family
live? Who will provide childcare when she goes
back to work? For many, abortion seems the
only way out.
These feelings are real, and the challenges
of an unplanned pregnancy are difficult. This
presents a pastoral challenge for bishops, clergy,
Church leaders and, indeed, for all faithful
Catholics. Often, the Catholic Church is unjustly
accused of being more concerned with the baby
in the womb than with the mother and child
once the infant has been born. As false as this
notion is, it is incumbent upon us as shepherds
to acknowledge and address that misperception.
As far back as the 1980s, the late John
Cardinal O’Connor, a giant of the pro-life
movement, made a pledge that we reaffirm
today: Any woman – regardless of age, religious
belief or affiliation, marital status or immigration
status – who is pregnant and in need, can come
to the Catholic Church and we will give you
the services and supports you need to carry
your baby to term, regardless of your ability to
pay. Furthermore, we will not abandon you and
your baby after delivery, but, rather, we will see
to it that you have the resources that you and
your child both need and deserve. No one will
be turned away from life-affirming care. If you
have had an abortion that you regret, whether
recently or in the distant past, please come to
us as well, so that we may offer you services to
help you to heal.
We ask every Catholic parish, every Catholic
Charities program, every Catholic health facility,
every Catholic school, every Catholic college
and university, and every religious community
in our state to proactively engage with us in this
pastoral effort. Together, through the New York
“Any woman – regardless
of age, religious belief or
affiliation, marital status or
immigration status – who
is pregnant and in need,
can come to the Catholic
Church and we will give you
the services and supports
you need to carry your baby
to term, regardless of your
ability to pay.”
State Catholic Conference, we have gathered a
list of many of the available resources at www.
nyscatholic.org/HelpForMoms. You can also
find a map to all Catholic parishes, schools and
Catholic Charities agencies in the state at www.
nyscatholic.org/places.
But our state and local governments must do
their part as well. Elected officials constantly
fall over themselves in rushing to announce
new initiatives to ever expand abortion in
order to garner votes. New York has long
been one of the few states to require taxpayers
to fund abortion through Medicaid. Planned
Parenthood and other abortion providers
have access to endless state funding streams.
Perhaps the most egregious piece of abortion
expansion legislation anywhere was the 2019
Reproductive Health Act. Championed by our
previous governor, this act legalizes abortion
on demand through nine months of pregnancy,
declares abortion to be a fundamental right,
allows non-physicians to perform abortions,
and even removes criminal penalties for forced
or coerced abortions. This year, our current
governor codified a provision in the state budget
requiring all health insurance plans to cover
abortion, with virtually no exemptions for
religious employers. Most recently, significant
taxpayer funds were redirected to increase
abortions in New York State.
Meanwhile, programs to support women
who make the choice to keep their babies, to
the extent that they exist at all, are starved for
funding and are not well promoted. Yet many
political leaders typically cater more to abortion
providers and advocates than to women who
might well make a different choice, if only they
were aware of and had other options.
We understand full well that no Supreme
Court decision will reduce the availability
of abortion in New York. With that reality
as a backdrop, state government has nothing
to lose and everything to gain by working
toward reducing the rate of abortion. There is
common ground to be found, even in a state like
New York. The recent state budget provision
dramatically expanding postpartum Medicaid
eligibility is proof of this. But why not work
together to do more?
New York State
Catholic Conference
WHAT WE ARE
The Catholic Conference represents
the Bishops of New York State in
public policy matters.
HOW TO REACH US
Mail: 465 State St.,
Albany, NY 12203
Phone: 518-434-6195
Fax: 518-434-9796
Email:
Website: nyscatholic.org
FIND US ON SOCIAL
/nyscatholicconference
@NYSCathConf
@NYSCathConf
● We envision a New York where a woman in
a crisis pregnancy is never made to feel that
she has no choice but to abort.
● We envision a New York where parents,
husbands or partners, as well as society at
large, do not put undue pressure on a woman
to abort her child.
● We envision a New York where access
to quality prenatal care and healthy birth
outcomes are the same whatever your ZIP
code, the color of your skin or your country
of origin.
● We envision a New York where employers and
educational institutions fully accommodate
the needs of pregnant women and new
mothers so that they can carry their babies
to term without fear of negative financial,
professional or academic consequences.
● We envision a New York where public
policies promote adoption through tax credits
and other incentives for both birth mothers
and adoptive parents.
● We envision a New York where tax policies
aimed at reducing poverty, like an expansion
of the Child Tax Credit, enable single
mothers and poor families to provide for the
basic needs of their children.
● We envision a New York where no mothers
or children fall through the cracks of the
social safety net, and quality health care is
guaranteed for all.
● We envision a New York where quality
childcare is affordable and accessible for all.
● We envision a New York where marriage
between one man and one woman is
promoted as a societal good geared toward
the stable raising of children.
● We envision a New York where boys and
men are taught to respect women and to
accept and embrace the financial, physical,
and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.
● We envision a New York where post-abortive
women who are suffering emotionally are
given the services they need to heal, and the
acknowledgment that their pain is real.
● We envision a New York where religious
organizations can provide needed services to
pregnant women and moms while remaining
true to the tenets of their faith.
All of these goals can come to pass, even
in a state like New York. Let us not put our
trust in mere judges, legislators, governors, or
presidents. Rather, let us put our faith in God,
for whom nothing is impossible. Politicians
can change policies and laws, but only God can
convert hearts and minds.
So, in this month of Mary, mother of Jesus
and mother of us all, let us pray through her
intercession for an end to abortion in our lifetime
and let us work toward making New York a state
where even if abortion is not illegal, it will one
day be unthinkable.
May 12, 2022
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Most Rev. Edward B. Scharfenberger
Bishop of Albany
Most Rev. Robert J. Brennan
Bishop of Brooklyn
Most Rev. Michael W. Fisher
Bishop of Buffalo
Most Rev. Terry R. LaValley
Bishop of Ogdensburg
Most Rev. Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
Most Rev. John O. Barres
Bishop of Rockville Centre
Most Rev. Douglas J. Lucia
Bishop of Syracuse
Help for Moms
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