Tallahassee, FL -- This month marks the 28th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court 7-2 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. These unfortunate rulings stripped away protection of law from unborn children at any stage of pregnancy. We have often expressed our disagreement with and dismay at these decisions, which in every state of this nation, struck down laws protecting the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable members of our human family, unborn children. Stemming from the decision, as well, is the ever increasing physical and emotional harm inflicted on women by abortion. We are greatly dismayed, too, by the high court’s June 2000 decision expanding this right, from killing children in the womb, to children almost completely born (Stenberg v. Carhart). In opposing these decisions and seeking their overturn, we hoped for and expected support from the two professions most dedicated to preservation and defense of human life, those of medicine and law. Sadly, that support has not come. Most medical leadership has effectively abandoned the Hippocratic Oath, which pledges opposition to abortion. So many in the legal profession have limited protection of human life to those surviving their first nine months. And today, joined by the entertainment and media industries, there are members in both professions who openly advocate euthanasia and assisted suicide. Our society has become coarsened in its respect for and defense of human life. Our youth have grown up in a society that accepts abortion as a solution to problems. We find young mothers embracing abortion as the solution to their personal, economic or family problems. We find fathers viewing abortion as a means of avoiding their responsibilities, either to the child or to the mother. This tide must be turned. This year, we especially offer our prayers and love for those women and men who have either had or been involved in abortions. We wish to express to them the love and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said to another woman involved in sin, " . . . neither do I condemn you." Please return to the Lord and seek his loving mercy, his forgiveness and his peace. Our parishes are open to you, post-abortion counseling is available, and the grace of the Sacraments awaits you. With God’s help, Roe v. Wade will one day be reversed. Abortion and infanticide are evil and beneath us as a people. We will continue to work, to educate and to pray that the laws of our nation will again respect the lives of every human being, from its very beginning, until its natural end. Archbishop John C. Favalora Archdiocese of Miami Bishop John J. Snyder Diocese of St. Augustine Bishop John J. Nevins Diocese of Venice Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Bishop Robert N. Lynch Diocese of St. Petersburg Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, CP Diocese of Orlando Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell Diocese of Palm Beach Bishop Agústin A. Román Archdiocese of Miami Bishop Gilberto Fernandez Archdiocese of Miami Bishop Thomas G. Wenski Archdiocese of Miami
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