Louisiana pro-life leaders react to Roe decision

Pro-life leaders throughout the state began to weigh in on the overturning of Roe v. Wade shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The decision brought a sudden and dramatic end to nearly a half-century of nationwide legalized abortion in the U.S. 

“We should look at the Supreme Court's reversing of Roe v. Wade as a significant accomplishment in the war against abortion, but it is also crucial that we remember that the fight is not over,” said Randall Waguespack, director of the Office of Life, Peace and Justice for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. “What we need even more than changes in our laws in this country is the conversion of our hearts.” 

“We need to continue to offer prayer and sacrifice for an end to the culture of death that plagues our country,” he added.

“This is an answer to prayers,” said Tom Costanza, executive director of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops. “We have for decades been praying (for the decision to be overturned) and they were answered.”

Costanza called the decision a significant first step in building a culture of life in society.
The opinion, in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is widely seen as the Supreme Court’s most highly anticipated and consequential ruling since Roe. It not only overturns Roe, the landmark 1973 abortion case, but also Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a 1992 decision that affirmed Roe.

"Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority," the opinion states. "We now overrule these decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives."

The decision does not ban or criminalize abortion, nor does it recognize an unborn child's constitutional right to life. But in one, breathtaking stroke, the court’s action sweeps away entrenched legal barriers, created and strictly enforced by the federal judiciary, that for decades have blocked states like Mississippi from heavily restricting or prohibiting the killing of unborn children in the womb.

In the process, the decision ushers in a new era of abortion politics in the U.S., with the battleground now shifting to state legislatures. Those democratically elected bodies are now free to debate and regulate abortion as they see fit, as happened throughout American history before the Supreme Court federalized the issue. 

At the same time, the ruling marks a watershed moment for the Catholic Church and the wider pro-life movement in the United States, which have painstakingly sought Roe’s reversal since the landmark 7-2 decision was handed down on Jan. 19, 1973.

The opinion was written by Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Associate justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented.
The outcome of Dobbs came as little surprise, since the final opinion substantially resembled a draft written by Alito in February that was leaked to the press on May 2.
In Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that states could not ban abortion before viability, which the court determined to be 24 to 28 weeks into pregnancy. Nearly 20 years later, the court upheld Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The 1992 ruling said that while states could regulate pre-viability abortions, they could not enforce an “undue burden,” defined by the court as “a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.”

Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, the subject of the Dobbs case, directly challenged both decisions, because it bans abortion weeks after 15 weeks, well before the point of viability.
"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division," the opinion states.

"It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives," the opinion states.

Costanza said this is a time for the church to support moms, providing resources, love and support, especially for those in need.

Waguespack echoed similar sentiments, saying “we need to recognize the importance of coming together to support women and their unborn babies now that Roe v. Wade is overturned.

“We need to show everyone that there are viable options instead of abortion. This will take a commitment from each one of us and from all our churches.”

Costanza said legislation was recently passed in the Louisiana Legislature providing medical services for moms postpartum for up to a year, which he called significant.

The decision comes only days after Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law the state’s “trigger law” that bans abortions in Louisiana.

SB 342, which was sponsored by Sen. Katrina Jackson of Monroe and that Edwards signed into law June 21, also increases criminal penalties for those providers performing abortions.

Additionally, SB 342 will close abortion clinics but also ensures doctors can appropriately handle miscarriages and work to save the life of the pregnant mother when her life is in danger. It clarifies language that contraceptives are not considered abortions.

The bill does include exceptions of medical futility, which allows for abortions if the doctors believe the baby will not survive after birth or the pregnancy is ectopic, when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus.

But the law does not provide exceptions in the cases of rape and incest.
Senate Bill 388, also signed into law by Edwards, stops the sale of chemical abortions immediately.

Louisiana is one of 13 states nationwide with the trigger laws.

Edwards said in a press release that his position on abortion has been unwavering.
“I am pro-life and have never hidden from that fact,” the governor said. “This does not belie my belief that there should be an exception to the prohibition on abortion for victims of rape and incest.”

This is a developing story. Please check back with The Catholic Commentator for updates.

Catholic News Agency contributed to this report.