Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement March 20, 2018, praising the work of pro-life pregnancy centers on the occasion of oral arguments being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in NIFLA v. Becerra. At issue are efforts by the State of California to mandate that Pro-Life Pregnancy centers also provide information to their clients about other centers that provide birth control and abortion.
Cardinal Dolan’s full statement:
«Pro-life pregnancy care centers embody everything that is right and good in our nation: generosity, compassion, and love that is offered to support both mother and child. But rather than applauding and encouraging the selfless and life-affirming work of these centers, some governments want to force them to provide free advertising for the violent act of abortion in direct violation of their pro-life convictions and the First Amendment. The United States Supreme Court cannot let this happen. We pray that the Court will do the right thing and uphold our fundamental right to free speech when it decides this case.»
The USCCB and several other groups filed a friend-of-the-court brief before the Supreme Court supporting the pro-life pregnancy centers in this important free speech case. The other groups are the California Catholic Conference, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Christian Legal Society and Agudath Israel of America.
The full text of the brief is available online.
