Massachusetts Pro-Life Figures Show Support For Ruling In Dobbs Abortion Case

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2022/06/25/massachusetts-pro-life-figures-show-support-for-ruling-in-dobbs-abortion-case/

Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were struck down yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

There were plenty of negative reactions from Massachusetts figures to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision.

Here are some of the positive reactions:

 

Joint Statement from Geoff Diehl and Leah Allen, Republican Nominees for Massachusetts Governor and Lieutenant Governor 

“We both believe in protecting innocent life wherever possible, and we support the Court’s decision for its proper interpretation of our Constitution, which takes the question of abortion and places it in the province of the states, where it belongs.” (Facebook)

 

Rayla Campbell, Republican Candidate for Secretary of State

“I slept like a baby last night. Thank you SCOTUS!” (Facebook)

 

Jim Lyons, Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party

“It took 50 years but the Supreme Court finally got it right and determined there is no constitutional right in snuffing out the lives of the unborn,” Lyons said. “At the same time, science has evolved and we now know that the unborn can begin feeling pain at just 12 weeks, having begun to develop a nervous system.

“The Democrats are constantly lecturing us to ‘trust the science.’ In this case, the science has proven that fetal pain and suffering is a real thing, yet in every instance, the Democrats have sought to expand the timeframe for abortions, thus expanding the cruelty and pain experienced by the unborn.

“Inflicting pain and death on another living, developing individual is not a right protected by the Constitution, no matter how warped the Democrats’ logic may be.”

“Sadly, the Democrats here in Massachusetts not only codified abortion into state law but also placated their donors in the abortion industry by drastically expanding something they once claimed to be ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ That said, today’s decision corrects the constitutional error that was the original Roe v. Wade decision and provides American voters with a real choice moving forward.” (Statement)

 

Andrew Beckwith, President of Massachusetts Family Institute

“As we reflect on the work of the last 49 years, we are grateful for all those who never stopped fighting for the lives of the unborn. For decades, we were told this was a ‘settled issue’ in American law and culture, but that was a lie and the tide has turned. The legalization of abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 was one of the most egregious cases of judicial activism this country has ever seen. It resulted in over sixty million dead American children and an unending contentious public debate. Abortion involves the violent and intentional ending of the life of a human child. Women who undergo abortions can experience untold physical, psychological, and emotional complications. Since its founding, MFI has worked tirelessly alongside pro-life patriots to rebuild a culture of life in which all human life is treasured. This decision is a major step forward. 

“But this is only the beginning. 

“A child conceived in Massachusetts should have the same right to be born as a child conceived in Mississippi. Tragically, the whole apparatus of state government in Massachusetts is aligned against the unborn and aligned with Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry. Abortion up to the point of infanticide is still legal in Massachusetts. In fact, the pro-abortion legislature is already working to make Boston a hub for abortions by encouraging people to come from states where there are pro-life laws to kill their babies in MA. It’s despicable. We’ve also recently seen a push to muzzle and restrict local pregnancy resource centers so that at-risk pregnant women don’t have access to life-affirming resources. 

“Nevertheless, today is a new day in Massachusetts. It seems clear that, nationally, there is tremendous momentum, and we look forward to a reenergized fight to restore a culture of life to the Commonwealth.” (Statement)

 

Myrna Maloney Flynn, President of Massachusetts Citizens for Life

“This is a moment that life advocates have worked tirelessly for throughout the past half-century. A grave and unjust abuse of judicial power has been corrected. The American people now have a voice, a united voice that, today, raises even louder on behalf of the voiceless. Our work is just beginning, as we aim to bridge the great cultural chasm that Roe v. Wade created. We will not stop working to save the lives of innocent unborn human beings. We will not cease our efforts to understand the needs of their mothers and to extend love and support to every woman who faces a crisis during pregnancy. Women deserve better than abortion. Women and men deserve the truth and every opportunity to live outside the shadow of abortion and in the bright light of real and lasting joy, a joy that comes only from honoring life.

Unfortunately, abortions will continue to be available in many places throughout the United States and here in Massachusetts.

Pro-abortion legislators in Massachusetts recently passed more funding for abortion and lowered the age for abortion without parental consent from 18 to 16. Despite the scare tactics from the pro-abortion lobby, abortions will unfortunately still happen here in Massachusetts. All of us at Massachusetts Citizens for Life and our thousands of members around the state are dedicated to educating the public about the humanity of the unborn and the resources available to pregnant women who need assistance.” (Statement)

 

Dwight Duncan, Professor of Constitutional Law, Member of Board of Advisors of Massachusetts Citizens for Life and Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund

“The Supreme Court has just overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey after almost 50 years of enshrining a right to kill unborn babies in the U.S. Constitution.  This was an abiding stain on our constitutional law which has now been corrected.  The Constitution says nothing about abortion.  From now on unborn human beings can be respected and protected in law, and the subject of abortion is returned to the democratic process.  Both unborn babies and democracy need tender loving care right now.  Like the notorious Dred Scott case in 1857, which teased a right to own slaves from the due process clause and held that African-Americans could not be citizens who could claim freedom from slavery, Roe and Casey declared that unborn human beings were not persons whose lives could be legally respected and protected.  Far from politicizing the Court, the decision at long last returns abortion to the political and ordinary legislative process. Indeed, abortion is a denial of the very idea of human rights, the notion that we possess rights, including the basic right to life and the right not to be targeted for killing, because of the very fact that we are living human beings.  So good riddance to Roe!”

 

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston

“For all of us who have spoken, written, worked, marched, and prayed to reverse Roe v. Wade, today’s Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is deeply significant and encouraging.  This decision will create the possibility of protecting human life from conception; it calls us to recognize the unique burden faced by women in pregnancy, and it challenges us as a nation to work together to build up more communities of support — and available access to them — for all women experiencing unplanned pregnancies.

During the past half-century, as the abortion debate continued, the Catholic Church has often been accused of imposing a religious belief on our pluralistic society.  It is indeed the case that, when addressing the Catholic community, the Church has used both religious and moral arguments to oppose abortion.  But when engaging the wider American civil society, elected officials, and our legal system, the Church has defended human life from its inception as a matter of human rights.  Our continued efforts in advocating our position on the protection of unborn children is consistent with our advocacy for issues affecting the dignity of all persons at all stages and in all circumstances of life.  The Church employs this principle of consistency in addressing issues of race, poverty, and human rights generally.  It is a position that presents a moral argument as a foundation for law and policy to protect human life.

I welcome the Court’s decision, but I do not underestimate how profoundly divisive the issue of abortion has been and will continue to be in our public life.  Even more tragic has been the personal suffering of women facing unplanned pregnancies in difficult situations.  The Church has consistently opposed the moral and legal dimensions of Roe v. Wade; we also adamantly reject stigmatizing, criminalizing, judging, or shaming women who have had abortions or are considering them.  Too often isolated and desperate, women have felt they had no other choice.  They need and deserve spiritual, emotional, and material support from the Church and from society.

In the Archdiocese of Boston, we have sought, through Project Rachel and Pregnancy Help, to support women facing a crisis pregnancy and women whose lives have been impacted by an abortion.  In addition, the Church offers the Lord’s boundless mercy and healing to those suffering from the spiritual harms of abortion.  In the face of recent statistics indicating an increase in abortions, our pastoral and social support for women will continue, will be welcoming, and will be available to all who need them.

Today’s Supreme Court decision begins a new chapter in our legislative and legal forums as the public debates about abortion will not end.  Since 1973, there has been continuing opposition to Roe v. Wade’s reasoning and its consequences.  Those consequences have permeated the political, legal, and social fabric of American life.  The radical character of the Roe decision catalyzed some of the deepest reactions and responses to any issue in our nation’s history.  The public arguments will now shift to the states, the Congress, and the courts.  It is my hope that this new chapter may be a time of a different tone and focus in our civic life.

First, we must adopt a wider vision of the multiple threats to human life in our society today.  The recognition that human life begins with conception and continues through natural death.  All human life deserves moral and legal protection at all times.  Protection of life should be comprehensive, not selective.  The Church, in its own positions, should reflect this wider vision, and we are called to engage our civil society around this more holistic view of the value and dignity of human life.  It is commonly recognized by those on both sides of the abortion debate that conditions of poverty and injustice have been and are today a major factor contributing to abortions.  Those who have opposed and supported Roe can and should find common ground for a renewed commitment to social and economic justice in our country.

Second, protecting human life at all times can only succeed if we rediscover the value of civility in discourse, in protest, and in policy advocacy.  Respect for life calls for mutual recognition of and respect for our common dignity as persons and citizens.  In recent years, the idea of civility and respectful discourse has suffered from neglect, as has the respect for human life.  The renewal of both is possible and urgently necessary.  

As a bishop and a citizen, I hope and pray we can create a culture that protects the most vulnerable at the beginning of life and at any time life is threatened in any way.” (Statement)

 

C.J. Doyle, Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts

“President John F. Kennedy’s appointee to the Supreme Court, Justice Byron White, famously wrote in his dissent to Roe v. Wade:

‘I find nothing in the language or history of the Constitution to support the Court’s judgment. The Court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right … and with scarcely any reason or authority for its action, invests that right with sufficient substance to override most existing state abortion statutes. The upshot is that the people and the legislatures of the 50 States are constitutionally disentitled…‘ White went on to call it ‘an exercise of raw judicial power…’

“After nearly a half-century, Byron White’s prophetic dissent was vindicated today.”

“The seven justices who inflicted Roe on America were Harry Blackmun, Warren Burger, William Brennan, William Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell and Potter Stewart. These men violated their oath, abused their office, made a mockery of the separation of powers, nullified the laws of fifty states, abandoned America’s natural law tradition of inalienable rights, and arrogated to themselves the authority of the people and their elected representatives to govern.”

The horrific consequence of the unwarranted pretensions of these presumptuous jurists was the most abominable crime in American history — the state-sanctioned killing of nearly 64 million innocent children. The names of those seven Justices should live in infamy.”

“The law is a teacher. After 49 years of legalized abortion, American public opinion has changed on this issue since the 1970’s. Because of that change, sixteen states, at the very least — including the two largest — will keep abortion legal.

“Hopefully, after today, many innocent lives will be saved, but, so long as the legal personhood of the unborn child is denied, hundreds of thousands will continue to be killed each year, under the color of law, in the United States of America.” (Statement)

 

Bishop Edgar da Cunha, Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River

“In its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision announced today, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the unjust 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which effectively opened the door to abortion across the land; today’s decision returns to individual states the opportunity to restrict or prohibit abortion, thereby protecting the lives of preborn children. Today’s Supreme Court decision will save the lives of millions of children who otherwise would never see the light of day or experience the warmth of a loving family.

As Catholics, we stand with the teaching of the Catholic Church which has always upheld the dignity of life and spoken out against abortion at all stages of pregnancy. The Church’s opposition comes not only from its teaching on the sanctity of life from the moment of conception but also from a moral imperative that transcends any religious doctrine: Developing life is human life and as such deserves the protection of the law.

I recognize, sadly, that in Massachusetts where abortion is already codified into state law, the Dobbs decision will have little impact. We must continue our efforts to defend the right to life for unborn children through advocacy and prayer. At the same time, we must also redouble our commitment to providing material and emotional support to expectant mothers who face a difficult or unintended pregnancy and those who find it difficult to care for their children after they are born. The Diocese of Fall River has a Pro-Life Apostolate whose mission is to provide support, assistance, and accompaniment to expectant mothers.

As a society rooted in Christian and family values, we must also advocate for both federal and state laws that ensure that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children.

My hope and my prayer is that all men and women of good will, regardless of their faith tradition – or even if they have no faith – will work together to create a society where human life is respected in all stages and in every condition, especially the most defenseless and vulnerable among us.” (Facebook)

 

Bishop William D. Byrne, Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield

“Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For many, many years, Catholics, and people who understand that all life is sacred have been praying for a day when Roe v. Wade would be overturned, when unborn babies would be protected, welcomed, and loved. That their parents are supported with practical help so that they didn’t feel like abortion was their only option.

So, I welcomed the Supreme Court decision, upholding each state’s right to defend life. Sadly, here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we still have much work to do.  Massachusetts has one of the most permissive abortion laws in the country, allowing abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy. We continue to work, advocate and pray that our brothers and sisters will recognize the right to life of the most vulnerable among us. This includes not just the unborn who are so precious to us, but all people whose human dignity of life is threatened.

We need to work to affirm this right, the right given by God alone that all life is sacred. Now, more than ever, we must lead with love to help change hearts and minds on the issue of abortion. This is not a political issue, but a human rights issue. Women deserve better than a choice that can never be undone. These precious lives certainly deserve to be held and loved and welcomed.

This decision has evoked strong emotions, including unfortunate threats and attacks on centers across the country. All people of goodwill should join me in condemning such violence in the strongest terms.

As Catholics, our job is to pray and witness to the love of Christ, in season and out of season. So let us pray for and walk with families in need; let us pray for and walk with women and men hurt by abortion, and let us pray for and walk with those who don’t agree with us to show them what the love of Christ looks like.

Praise be Jesus Christ.” (Statement)

 

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