The nation’s leading pro-life organizations released a joint letter to state legislators Thursday denouncing efforts to criminalize pregnant women who have abortions and urging legislators to “act with love and compassion” toward such women.
The letter was signed by the leaders of 76 pro-life organizations on the state, national and international levels, including National Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony List, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, March for Life Action, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The letter was released as Louisiana legislators debated a controversial bill that would have allowed murder charges to be brought against women who have an abortion. Facing backlash from the pro-life community, the sponsor of the bill pulled it from consideration Thursday night.
A pregnant woman who considers an abortion is a “victim of a callous industry,” the letter said.
“As national and state pro-life organizations, representing tens of millions of pro-life men, women, and children across the country, let us be clear: We state unequivocally that any measure seeking to criminalize or punish women is not pro-life and we stand firmly opposed to such efforts,” the letter said.
The coalition of pro-life groups released the letter as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could result in the overturning of Roe.
“If the Supreme Court does overturn Roe v. Wade, they will be honoring the unambiguous division of powers described in the Constitution, returning abortion policymaking back to our elected state and federal legislators,” the letter said. “This will be a tremendous opportunity for states to create durable policy that can stand the test of time. But in seizing that opportunity, we must ensure that the laws we advance to protect unborn children do not harm their mothers.”
Legislators must act with “love and compassion” toward “abortion-vulnerable women,” the coalition said in the letter.
“We are America’s leading advocates for life,” the letter said. “We come from very different backgrounds and perspectives, but we are united in our mission to protect unborn children and American women from the greed of the abortion industry. We have been in this fight for decades – many of us have dedicated our lives to this cause. We understand better than anyone else the desire to punish the purveyors of abortion who act callously and without regard to the dignity of human life. But turning women who have abortions into criminals is not the way.”
Related:
Supreme Court Has Votes to Overturn Roe in Draft Opinion: ‘Pray They Stay Strong,’ Pro-Lifers Urge
10 Christian Leaders React to Potential Overturning of Roe v. Wade
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
