In a 5-4 ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Louisiana law that requires abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The case, June Medical Services LLC vs. Russo, has been closely watched by both pro-life and pro-choice Americans, as it was seen as a bellwether of how the Court will determine abortion cases going forward.
In a statement released on Monday, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Pro-Life Activities responded to the ruling, saying:
“Abortion violently ends the life of a child, and often severely harms women. Abortion becomes even more destructive when basic health and safety standards are ignored, and profit margins are prioritized over women’s lives. As Catholics, we condemn abortion as a grave injustice that denies the fundamental human right to life. Yet even as we seek to end the brutality of legalized abortion, we still believe that the women who seek it should not be further harmed and abused by a callous, profit-driven industry.”
In an appearance on The Drew Mariani Show™ Steven Aden, Chief Legal Officer at Americans United for Life, said, “Statistics that even the abortion industry agrees with say that .3%, (and it might be as high as 1%) of abortions end up in the hospital. So you’ve got somewhere between 1 in 100 or 1 in 300 abortions ending up in a hospital in any given year. If you have thousands of abortions being done in that state in any given year, then obviously you’ve got dozens of women being transported to the hospital every year for abortion complications.”
“I think it’s reasonable and I think it’s common sense that the state requires that abortionists cannot abandon their patients anymore,” Aden said. “They say, ‘Hey, if something goes wrong, just go to the ER. They’ll fix it up for you.’ That’s what they do now, and it’s not acceptable.”
Archbishop Naumann condemned what he said was the Court’s decision to prioritize the abortion business over the health and safety of women, saying, “The Court’s failure to recognize the legitimacy of laws prioritizing women’s health and safety over abortion business interests continues a cruel precedent. As we grieve this decision and the pregnant women who will be harmed by it, we continue to pray and fight for justice for mothers and children.”
“We will not rest until the day when the Supreme Court corrects the grave injustice of Roe and Casey and recognizes the Constitutional right to life for unborn human beings. And we continue to ask all people of faith to pray for women seeking abortion, often under enormous pressure, that they will find alternatives that truly value them and the lives of their children.”
Read the full statement from the USCCB, and tune-in to Relevant Radio® for continuing analysis of the Court’s decision.
