Amendment 3 is a major issue as Catholics observe Respect Life Month in October

October is Respect Life Month, when Catholics around the nation highlight their witness to the dignity of every human life. Parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis will begin their observation with Respect Life Sunday at Masses the weekend of Oct. 5-6 and continue with events throughout the month.

In a letter in observance of Respect Life Month, U.S. bishops’ pro-life chairman Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, called for a revival of prayer and action to end abortion and uphold the sanctity of human life.

Despite the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, there remains a “national mindset where many Americans have become comfortable with some amount of abortion,” Bishop Burbidge said. “This allows the abortion industry to continue to provide any amount of abortion.”

Missouri’s Amendment 3 is one of 10 state-level abortion-related initiatives that will be on November ballots across the country. Seven states have already expanded abortion access via ballot initiatives following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Amendment 3 proposes to create a right to reproductive freedom, “which is the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care and respectful birthing conditions.” If passed, the measure would allow abortions until viability (typically around 22-24 weeks of pregnancy), with an exception for the “life and physical or mental health” of the mother.

The Missouri Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, has opposed the measure, arguing in an August statement it would “effectively repeal long-standing health and safety standards for women.” Among the laws potentially affected by Amendment 3, it said, were “basic health and safety requirements for clinics where abortions are performed, requiring that abortions be performed only by a physician, informed consent requirements, laws prohibiting public funding of abortion and parental consent requirements before a minor’s abortion.”

“We urge all Missourians of good will to stand for the health and safety of women and their preborn children and oppose Amendment 3,” the statement said.

Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, who has shared resources on Amendment 3 with priests of the archdiocese, has said that he strongly opposes the amendment and that the Church is speaking out on the issue “to look out for the common good of mothers and children. Destroying life — particularly innocent, vulnerable, human life — is not what humanity was created for.”

“Leading up to the election we will work to inform the faithful, and the public, of Amendment 3’s deceptions and dangers,” he said in a social media post. “Please join me — through prayer, education and action — as we urge all Missourians of good will to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 3.”

Tim Belz of the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based public interest firm that challenged Amendment 3 before Missouri’s Supreme Court in September, noted the legal difficulties of embedding abortion into the constitution.

“We urge all Missourians of good will to stand for the health and safety of women and their preborn children and oppose Amendment 3.”

— Missouri Catholic Conference

Amendment 3 seeks to modify the state constitution to include an unlimited, new “super-right,” called the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” the Thomas More Society argued in its lawsuit. In the proposed amendment, this term is left largely undefined, it said, but affects “all matters relating to reproductive health care,” the Thomas More Society said.

“The only way you could repeal it would be through another constitutional amendment, and that’s the problem,” Belz said. “You’d have to get the people to vote on another amendment, and that’s hard to do.”

Because of the broad nature of the amendment’s language, there will be unintended consequences affecting other areas related to reproductive services, said Missouri Catholic Conference executive director Jamie Morris.

For example, one part states that “no person shall be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. Nor shall any person assisting a person in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with that person’s consent be penalized, prosecuted or otherwise subjected to adverse action for doing so.”

“I look at it as how does that affect medical malpractice suits?” Morris said. “Let’s say there is something wrong in a birth and child or mother is injured. Because that doctor, according to the language, is assisting a woman in exercising her right to reproductive freedom, they can’t be subject to any legal consequences for their actions. All of these questions are probably going to be litigated.”

The U.S. bishops have stated in their election document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” that “abortion remains our pre-eminent priority as it directly attacks our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, destroying more than a million lives each year in our country alone.”

>>Respect Life Conference

The Archdiocese of St. Louis will celebrate Respect Life Month with the 48th Annual Respect Life Conference, “Mercy Brings Life,” on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury. The conference begins at 9 a.m. and includes Mass, presentations on timely topics from Catholic and pro-life leaders, lunch, a ministry partner fair, as well as an opportunity for networking, prayer and fellowship.

The conference will feature presentations on Missouri pro-life laws and advocacy (including Amendment 3), how God’s mercy builds a culture of life and best practices in having pro-life conversations. Cost is $20, which includes lunch and program materials. To register, visit stlreview.com/4d8xvJ7. For more information, contact prolife@archstl.org or (314) 792-7555.

>> Life Chain

The annual Life Chain will take place on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 6, at locations throughout the greater St. Louis area. The ecumenical pro-life event, which started in 1987, unites thousands each year in peaceful prayer and witness throughout the United States and Canada.

For an up-to-date listing of Life Chain locations in the St. Louis area, visit stlrespectlife.org. For more information, contact the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate.