Abortion — the direct and intentional destruction of a baby in the womb — is never medically necessary, according to the pro-life chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Instead, doctors must strive to care for the two patients involved in every pregnancy: the woman and her unborn child.
“When the lives of mother and child are in immediate danger, the goal is to fight to save both patients,” Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said. “Effective treatments exist that seek to save the life of a mother and never intentionally or directly harm her unborn child.”
Bishop Thomas spoke with Our Sunday Visitor about abortion and women’s health ahead of the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The June 24, 2022, ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, and freed states to decide abortion policy.
His comments came after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently decided to revoke guidance that instructed hospitals to perform abortions in emergency situations regardless of state law under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
Bishop Thomas welcomed the decision in a statement, writing that the guidance “defied the purpose of the long-standing EMTALA law, which is to help save the lives of vulnerable women who arrive at emergency rooms and, if they are pregnant, the lives of their babies as well.”
“Catholic hospitals have operated under this and served patients without significant problems for decades,” he told Our Sunday Visitor.
Church teaching on abortion
A total of 645 U.S. Catholic hospitals assist with nearly 90 million patients every year, and 1 in 6 patients nationwide receives care in a Catholic hospital, according to numbers listed by the USCCB for the year 2014. The U.S. Catholic bishops also report more than 19.5 million emergency room visits in Catholic hospitals during a one-year period.
“The Catholic hospital will never be involved in intentionally and directly taking a life,” Bishop Thomas said of abortion. “We desire to care for mother and child, and our hospitals are charged by the mandate of the Gospel and the mandate of the Church to strive to allow life to flourish in all its forms.”‘
According to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” abortion is never permitted. Here, the bishops define abortion as “the directly intended termination of pregnancy before viability (from the moment of conception) or the directly intended destruction of a viable fetus,” or a baby who can survive outside the womb.
Catholic hospitals may provide a pregnant woman with lifesaving treatment even if it means that her unborn child will die indirectly as a result, according to the directives. In this case, the intention and action are to save the mother’s life, not to end her baby’s life.
“Operations, treatments and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will result in the death of the unborn child,” the directives read.
The definition of abortion
In his statement about EMTALA, Bishop Thomas echoed the bishops’ directives: “It is important to recognize that, when necessary, there are morally and legally permissible procedures to save the life of a mother in a health crisis, even when they may result in the terrible loss of her child.”
Such a procedure is not an abortion, which is “the direct and intentional killing of a child in the womb,” he told Our Sunday Visitor.
He also distinguished miscarriage from abortion.
“Any woman and any family that has experienced the deep sadness of loss of a baby due to miscarriage, there is no intentionality on their part to lose that child or to take the life of that child,” he said.
The Dobbs anniversary
In anticipation of the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Bishop Thomas released a statement encouraging Catholics “to engage their elected officials on all issues that threaten the gift of human life, in particular the threat of abortion.” At the same time, recognizing the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, he focused on the message of hope.
“The decision of Dobbs not only gave states the freedom to protect preborn children, but also paved the way for pro-life victories nationally,” he told Our Sunday Visitor. “I noted the federal government is now closer than ever to defunding Planned Parenthood and other organizations whose abortion profiteering harms women and babies.”
He encouraged pro-life Catholics to embrace hope, even as some states have moved to protect abortion following the Dobbs decision.
“Hope does not disappoint,” he said, quoting St. Paul. “We cannot despair because we are Catholics, we believe in life, and that life first is the life of Jesus Christ risen from the dead.”
He shared what gives him hope: “the commitment of so many of our Catholic faithful (not only) to life itself, but also to love,” including by young people “who are so committed to life and so committed to announcing the love which is God himself, who gives us life in the first place.”
“Life is a product, if you will, of love,” he added at another point. “Even if it lacks human love, it’s the love of God, because life could not exist without God’s care.”
A special message
To better promote a culture of life, Bishop Thomas encouraged Catholics to sign up for Respect Life Prayer and Action email and text alerts at www.respectlife.org. He also invited Catholics to get involved, from accompanying pregnant and parenting mothers in need through the bishops’ parish-based initiative Walking with Moms in Need to working with their diocese’s pro-life office.
“We can’t tire of sharing Christ’s message of hope and mercy, especially for those who are suffering, for example, with unexpected or challenging pregnancies,” he said, pointing to both Walking with Moms in Need and the Project Rachel ministry, which ministers to those wounded by abortion.
Bishop Thomas shared his own message for women who have experienced abortion.
“No sin is outside the tender mercy of God,” he encouraged. “No sin is so grave that the Lord can’t forgive that sin and draw any person back into his powerful and redeeming love.”
He also wanted mothers who might be pregnant and scared to know they are not alone.
“Jesus and the Church love you,” he said. “The Church is ready and willing and open to care for you in your need — whatever the challenges are, do not be afraid.”
