In January 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States gave our nation Roe v. Wade and its companion decision Doe v. Bolton, and, in doing so, effectively removed every legal protection from human beings prior to birth. Over the past 47 years, millions of lives have been destroyed before birth and even during the very process of being born. Countless women have been traumatized so deeply by abortion that they spend years struggling to find peace, healing, and reconciliation. Men grieve because they could not “choose” to protect a child they helped bring into existence, and society has increasingly coarsened by toleration and acceptance of acts that purposely destroy human life.
In recent years, individual states have passed laws to regulate or limit abortion. Sadly, New Jersey remains one of the few states without any major restrictions on abortion such as: mandatory consent for minors, parental notification, waiting periods or limits on publically funded abortion. In 2017, there were a reported 48,110 abortions performed in our state. In 2020, New Jersey allocated $9.5 million of taxpayer money to Planned Parenthood, the leading abortion provider.
In October, Governor Murphy stood with Planned Parenthood again at a press conference as he introduced a new bill entitled, The Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848). According to the governor, this bill is a proactive piece of legislation to protect and expand New Jerseyan’s ability to receive reproductive care, including contraception and abortion, in the wake of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If passed, The Reproductive Freedom Act would codify into New Jersey law the findings of Roe v. Wade, meaning that abortion would remain legal in New Jersey even if the case were overturned by the Supreme Court. The measure would also strip away health and safety regulations making New Jersey a more dangerous place for women and their unborn babies.
A close look at the Reproductive Freedom Act (RFA) reveals the radical nature of this legislation and why it is cause for deep concern. Here are just a few points to consider:
Safety:
• Women: The RFA voids all life-protecting rules and regulations with regards to abortion as promulgated by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners. It allows non-physicians, including but not limited to a certified midwife, advanced practice nurse or physician assistant, to perform an abortion procedure in a non-hospital setting. The RFA also allows for abortion throughout all nine-months of pregnancy. The risk of complications from abortion rises exponentially the later in a pregnancy the procedure is performed. Each of these factors clearly puts the safety of women at risk.
• Victims: The RFA also applies to non-New Jersey residents. Since abortion and sex trafficking are undeniably linked, New Jersey could become a magnet for traffickers if the RFA becomes law.
Rights:
• Babies in the Womb: Under the RFA, it is established that the fertilized egg, the embryo or the fetus (all terms for early human life) does not have independent rights. If passed, the RFA will enshrine into law that living babies in the womb, even if viable, have no rights.
• Healthcare workers: The RFA eliminates New Jersey’s longstanding conscience protection clause that protects the rights of healthcare workers to refuse to perform or assist in abortion because doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
• Taxpayers: The RFA will require that the state legislature allocate funding for abortion services and contraceptives in the annual state budget.
• Newborns: The RFA eliminates the requirement for an autopsy to be conducted in a case where a fetal death occurs without medical attendance. This strips away the rights of a newborn baby born alive and clearly opens the doors to infanticide.
Future:
Finally, the RFA even goes so far as to invalidate and prohibit the future adoption of all laws, rules and regulations, ordinances, resolutions, policies, etc., that conflict with the provisions or the express or implied intent of the RFA.
How have we gotten to this place? Abortion, the killing of one’s own child, was once seen as an act of desperation. Today, it is fiercely defended as a good and promoted as a right. Politicians once coined the phrase, “safe, legal and rare,” with regards to abortion. Today, this slogan is no longer tolerable by those who call themselves “pro-choice.”
In January of 2019, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a measure similar to the RFA, entitled, The Reproductive Health Act, which, among other things, expanded abortion rights in that state. Upon signing the law, Cuomo directed that New York landmarks be lit in pink to celebrate and to “shine a light forward for the rest of the nation.” Sadly, it appears that New Jersey is following this path, which, I assert, is not at all about light but about darkness and death.
As people of faith, we believe that Christ is our light. Christ is the light that helps us see things as they really are and illuminates our understanding. Christ is the light we can follow with confidence and perfect trust. As Catholics, we believe in the sanctity of all human life. We are called to reject this radical legislation by contacting our state legislators, educating our friends and neighbors, reaching out to pregnant moms in need and praying and fasting for an end to abortion and for the protection of all human life. In all of our efforts, may our Lord continue to be a lamp for our feet and a light to our future.
For more information and to take action, visit: https://njcatholic.org/reproductive-freedom-act
Ruggiero is secretary, diocesan Scretariat for Family and Pastoral Life