STATEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP NELSON J. PÉREZ FOLLOWING OPINION FROM THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES IN DOBBS V. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION

I am grateful to the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States for their willingness to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and for their opinion, which affirms the deep value inherent to every human life.

As Catholics, we believe that life is God’s most precious gift and that we share a responsibility to uphold its beauty and sanctity from conception to natural death. In addition to being strong advocates for the unborn, this responsibility extends to caring for the hungry, the poor, the sick, the immigrant, the elderly, the oppressed, and any of our brothers and sisters who are marginalized.

In short, to be truly pro-life means to recognize the presence of God in everyone and to care for them accordingly.
The Church’s strong commitment to protecting and preserving human life is a holistic one. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is one of the largest private providers of social services in the region. Our ministries and programs provide a continuum of care to those in need regardless of their faith tradition.

Our charitable programs provide formula, diapers, education, and comprehensive support services to pregnant women, fathers, new parents, and single parents. We have distributed more than a
million meals in the greater Philadelphia region to those struggling with food insecurity. We shelter the homeless, support veterans, those in recovery, and help students with special needs receive the
Catholic education they deserve. We have helped desperate families get back on their feet and bring joy to the lives of the aged and lonely.

I have often said that we are a people of hope. It is my personal hope that we can all live and work peacefully, side-by-side, to create a true culture of life in our Nation.

May God bless you.
Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia

In 2018, Mississippi enacted a law called Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act which limits abortions after 15 weeks gestational age except in medical emergencies or for severe fetal abnormality. ^.An abortion clinic in Mississippi successfully challenged this law in Dobbs^* v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Mississippi petitioned the Supreme Court, and it agreed to review this ruling.¹  

The specific question the Court will answer is whether a state may enact limits on abortion before viability, i.e. when the baby is capable of living outside her or his mother’s womb.²  

Today, the United States is one of four countries, including China and North Korea, that allows the abortion of a child any time during a woman’s pregnancy.³  In contrast, 47 out of 50 European countries either do not allow elective abortion or limit elective abortion to 15 weeks or earlier.⁴

15-week ultrasound when Roe was decided in 1973                 15-week ultrasound TODAY

                                   

By 15 weeks, a baby has a heartbeat, can move and kick, can sense movement outside the mother’s womb, has eyes and eyelids that are beginning to open, can hiccup, and can hear her or his mother’s heartbeat.⁵

As Catholics we uphold the dignity of life from conception
to natural death. We invite you to pray one Hail Mary as a family at
dinner for a just ruling in the Dobbs case and for those impacted by it.
 

For further information, see https://marchforlife.org/dobbs/

Here's a short explainer video on "The Supreme Court and Abortion”  by O. Carter Snead, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame and Director, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, November 30, 2021.

Do You Know Roe?

^{1 Pray for Dobbs Informational Flyer based on Amici Curiae Brief for the American College of Pediatricians and the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, https://www.prayfordobbs.com/_files/ugd/20d9f7_00c38e8b015c48d092a81b098823aa4f.pdf.}

^{2 Ibid.}

^{3 Ibid.}

^{4 Nguyen, J.D., Angelina B., “Mississippi’s 15-Week Gestational Limit on Abortion is Mainstream Compared to European Laws,”  July 27. 2021, https://lozierinstitute.org/comparing-mississippi-limit-with-european-laws/.}

^{5 Pray for Dobbs Informational Flyer based on Amici Curiae Brief for the American College of Pediatricians and the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, https://www.prayfordobbs.com/_files/ugd/20d9f7_00c38e8b015c48d092a81b098823aa4f.pdf.}

^{6 Ibid.}

^{7 Ibid.}

^{8 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Fact Sheet: Do You Know Roe?” July, 18, 2018, https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/do-you-know-roe.}

^* Dobbs is the state health officer of the Mississippi State Department of Health.