The Bishops of Florida have released the following remarks honoring the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children:
"Informed by the divinely revealed truth that the human being is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 2:26-27), as Christians we care for all of God’s children, especially the most vulnerable among us. On this Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, we renew our call to pray and work for a culture that protects life in the womb and offers loving support to all mothers, fathers, and families.
Florida celebrated two major milestones over the past year. First, the Florida Supreme Court reversed the finding in the 1989 legal case, In Re: TW, that bent the state constitution’s right to privacy to include a broad right to abortion. We celebrate the overturning of this longstanding wrong in Florida jurisprudence. This ruling paved the way for the Heartbeat Protection Act, which restricts the intentional taking of the life of an unborn child at 6 weeks of gestation, to go into effect.
Second, in the November election, Amendment 4 was defeated. This proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution was pushed by a well-funded effort spreading misinformation about women’s healthcare and current abortion law. If passed, it would have removed nearly all regulation of abortion up to viability and well beyond. The Church in Florida made a considerable effort to help defeat Amendment 4, and we thank the many people of goodwill who worked in defense of the innocent preborn. We are grateful that voters rejected this amendment, but we also recognize that many of our fellow citizens voted in its favor and that much work remains. While the Heartbeat Protection Act has significantly decreased the number of abortions, the unfortunate reality is that abortions continue to be performed in Florida at a high rate..."