By Julie Asher
WASHINGTON, USA, (Catholic News Service) – The chairman of the US bishops’ pro-life and international policy committees said president Joe Biden’s memo rescinding the so-called “Mexico City policy” January 28, is a “grievous” action that “actively promotes the destruction of human lives in developing nations.”
“(It) is antithetical to reason, violates human dignity, and is incompatible with Catholic teaching. We and our brother bishops strongly oppose this action. We urge the president to use his office for good, prioritizing the most vulnerable, including unborn children,” the prelates said.
The statement was issued by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, and chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace.
The policy, first announced by president Ronald Reagan during an international conference on population in Mexico City in 1984, blocked US funding for nongovernmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a form of family planning in other nations.
Republican presidents since then have upheld the policy and Democratic presidents have overturned it. Opponents of the policy call it a “gag order.”
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