La Crosse Diocese Bishop Callahan responds, after Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

La Crosse Diocese Bishop, William Patrick Callahan, issued a statement Friday, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The text from the Diocese before Callahan’s statement mentions the court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is the Mississippi case that directly challenges and, with a 5-4 ruling by the court, overturns Roe v. Wade. The ruling sends the right to an abortion to the states. In Wisconsin, a law created in 1849 — the year after become a state and before women had the right to vote — bans abortions completely, except to save the mother’s life.

Here’s the statement in full:

In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Bishop William Patrick Callahan issued the following statement:

“We welcome today’s ruling by the Supreme Court, as we continue to proclaim a vision for our society that upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable—a society in which the legal protection of human life is joined to profound care for mothers and their children.

“We intend our Catholic parishes to be places of welcome for women facing challenging pregnancies or who find it difficult to care for their children after birth, so that any mother needing assistance will receive life-affirming support and be connected to appropriate programs and resources where she can get help. These include numerous Pregnancy Resource Centers within the boundaries of our diocese and across the state, as well as the Pregnancy Support Services and Adoption Services of our own Catholic Charities. We will do everything in our power to raise awareness of, and to strengthen, that network of compassionate care.

“We will continue to support laws that ensure the right to life for unborn children, along with legislation that ensures that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children, regardless of race, age, immigration status, or any other factor.

“In addition, recognizing that more than 65 million children have died from abortion in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade, leaving an untold number of women, men, and families suffering in the aftermath, we also commit to reach out in healing ministry to those wounded by the trauma of abortion.

“In these ways and more, the Catholic Church will continue to witness to the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and to work to build a true culture of life in our nation, a culture that lovingly embraces and supports mothers and children before and after birth, along with their families. In the midst of life’s sufferings and challenges, we will strive always to be channels of the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Callahan also included this quote from Pope Francis on the 25th Anniversary of Evangelium Vitae (March 25, 2020):

“[E]very human life, unique and unrepeatable, has value in and of itself; it is of inestimable value. This must always be proclaimed anew with the courage of the Word and the courage of actions. It calls us to solidarity and fraternal love for the great human family and for each of its members.”