On August 22, a coalition of 50 pro-life groups is organizing simultaneous rallies to be held at local Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide. At this point, pro-life advocates in 180 cities and 43 states have committed to be present at Planned Parenthood abortion and abortion referral clinics to protest abortion and the selling of the body parts of unborn babies.  I was asked to prepare a statement for the event that is being held in Louisville.  It is below:

 Statement

I join with Cardinal Sean O’Malley, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro Life Activity, who vigorously opposed the callous treatment of women and of unborn children and their remains by Planned Parenthood.  These practices are the result of what Pope Francis has called a “widespread mentality of profit, the throwaway culture, which has today enslaved the hearts and minds of so many.”

Like countless Americans, I have been appalled with the practices that have come to light, but I am even more appalled by the ongoing reality of abortion itself – the taking of innocent human life on a massive scale for decades.

The Church offers alternatives. In his letter to legislators supporting S. 1881, Cardinal O’Malley reminded them that “the Catholic Church comes to this issue from a perspective rooted in experience. Catholic charitable agencies and pregnancy help centers have helped countless pregnant women find life-affirming alternatives to abortion. Our hospitals and other health facilities are second to none in providing quality health care for women.”  I join in Cardinal O’Malley’s “support

[for] the legislative proposal to reallocate federal funding, so that women can obtain their health care from providers that do not promote abortion.”

Please join me in praying for all unborn children and their mothers, as well as for those who work for Planned Parenthood, and all of those bound up in the tragedy of abortion. 

Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
August 13, 2015

For Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s statement see here. For his letter to Congress, see here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email