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The unborn child is, perhaps, the most defenseless and vulnerable person whose right to life is legally taken away in the United States. Catholic social teaching clearly includes the unborn child as a person whose dignity, because it is a creation of God, is sacred. Our educational programs and our legislative advocacy are based on this principle.
We work towards assisting women in problem pregnancies. We show compassion and forgiveness to women who have had abortions. We work, legislatively, to decrease abortions and to offer alternatives.
The Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains Catholic Church teaching in light of the Gospel and applies it to current policies. To learn more, go here.
Catholic Church Teaching
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law" (No. 2271).
Mother Teresa's Message"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships... It has portrayed the greatest of gifts – a child – as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience."
~St. Teresa of Calcutta
Resources
The Gospel of Life, encyclical of Pope St. John Paul II