New York Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan offered encouragement to pregnant women Monday after his state legalized abortions for basically any reason up to birth.
WABC News reports the Catholic leader responded to the pro-abortion law Monday by emphasizing the support available to help pregnant moms choose life for their unborn babies.
In keeping with the pro-life goal to make abortions unthinkable, not just illegal, Dolan said the archdiocese is more than ready and willing to help pregnant mothers in need.
“Any woman feeling a difficult pregnancy and tempted to have an abortion is assured of a warm welcome, encouragement and loving support,” the archbishop said at the press conference.
“Any pregnant woman can come to this Archdiocese of New York,” Dolan continued. “We will do all in our power to assist you, to welcome you so that you never have to feel that you have no alternative except abortion.”
He said it does not matter what woman’s faith, marriage or immigration status is; they will help her.
In January, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a radical pro-abortion law that allows unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth. The action prompted a huge public outcry, including calls for Dolan to excommunicate Cuomo, who claims to be Catholic.
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The archbishop addressed the discouragement that many pro-lifers have felt since Cuomo signed the law. Since then, several other states, including Virginia, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts, also have seen similar late-term abortion bills.
“Abortion has been very much in the news lately,” Dolan said, according to the New York Daily News. “And it sometimes seems as if each day brings with it a further attack on the rights and dignity on all human life, especially the life of the most innocent and powerless among us — the baby waiting to be born.”
Later, he added: “No matter the hurt, the frustration or even anger we may feel at the passage of the recent abortion expansion bill, we should not respond with bitterness or divisions. But put our faith and trust in the Lord and reach out with love to troubled moms and their expectant babies.”
The pro-life movement, which includes people of all faiths, has worked at multiple strategies for decades to end abortion and protect every human life. Legislation is just one of those ways. Others work through pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies and more to provide material support, information and encouragement to pregnant and parenting moms. Then there are sidewalk counseling outreaches, educational efforts, student organizations and even an outreach to help abortion workers quit their jobs. These all contribute to the wider goal to protect all human life.
The recent defeat in New York is discouraging, but hope remains as long as pro-lifers continue to reach out to families in need and reassure them that there always are better options than abortion.
