The 50 U.S. jurisdictions may or may not restrict abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, decided to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, leaving it up to the states to decide whether or not to terminate pregnancies. The vote took place on Friday, June 24. The decision was settled with a majority of 6 to 3.
The Vatican, through the Pontifical Academy for Life, indicated that this decision will make it possible to ensure adequate sex education and guarantee health care accessible to all, whose President, Archbishop Vicenzo Paglia, also assured that the Court’s decision will serve as a reflection for many nations.
«In the face of a Western society that is losing its passion for life, this act is a powerful invitation to reflect together on the serious and urgent problem of human generativity and the conditions that make it possible; in choosing life, our responsibility for the future of humanity is at stake,» the Archbishop declared.
Following his remarks, Archbishop Vincenzo urged the reopening of a non-ideological debate on the place of the protection of life in a civil society and called on nations to provide solid assistance to mothers, couples and unborn children.
«The fact that a great country with a long democratic tradition has changed its position on this issue also challenges the whole world. It is not right that the problem should be left aside without adequate global consideration. The protection and defense of human life is not an issue that can be confined to the exercise of individual rights, but is a matter of broad social significance,» he emphasized.
In addition to the Vatican, the U.S. pro-life campaign also spoke out and declared the Supreme Court ruling «a momentous day for human rights.»
Several U.S. jurisdictions have already announced that they will ban abortion in their territory, including Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming.
Source: Weekly Magazine