The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities has voiced strong support for legislation aimed at revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone.
He is reaffirming the Catholic Church’s teaching that all human life is sacred from the moment of conception.
In an April 1 letter to the bill’s sponsors, Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, stated: “Catholic teaching holds that all human life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death and that both the life of the mother and the preborn child possess equal, inherent dignity.”
The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, introduced March 11 by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., would withdraw the FDA’s approval of mifepristone for abortions, prohibit its labeling for that purpose and provide a private right of action against manufacturers.
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Mifepristone, approved by the FDA in 2000, is used in the majority of abortions performed in the United States.
Bishop Thomas described the abortion pill as “an isolating and harmful response to women in need, who deserve better in the form of compassionate accompaniment and meaningful support to help them welcome their child.”
He wrote that the legislation “would likely save lives by curtailing the incidence of chemical abortion itself and all of its associated risks to the mothers as well.”
The bill faces long odds in Congress.
Hawley has highlighted safety concerns with the drug, stating: “The science is clear: The chemical abortion drug is inherently dangerous to women and prone to abuse.”
Catholic teaching consistently holds that abortion ends the life of an innocent human being. Bishop Thomas’s letter underscores the bishops’ longstanding call for support of both mothers and their unborn children rather than chemical solutions that harm both.
Pro-life advocates argue that removing the drug’s approval for abortion would protect vulnerable women and the preborn from serious health risks associated with chemical abortion.
