Statement by Bishop Burbidge and Bishop Knestout on 
U.S. Senate Rejection of “Women’s Health Protection Act”

Earlier tonight, a critical number of U.S. Senators took a strong, decisive stand against H.R. 3755 – the deceptively-named, extreme Women’s Health Protection Act. The bill sought to impose abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy through federal statute, eliminate modest and widely supported pro-life laws at every level of government, and force all Americans to support abortions here and abroad with their tax dollars.

By voting against a motion to begin debate on this radical bill, these senators stopped this horrendous legislation in its tracks. We applaud their firm, clear rejection of H.R. 3755, in stark contrast with the bill’s profoundly regrettable passage in the U.S. House of Representatives last September.

We are also deeply disappointed that Virginia’s two U.S. Senators voted in favor of moving forward with this radical legislation. With firm resolve, we call on them – and on all in Congress who continue to promote extreme abortion measures – to reverse course and re-direct their focus toward policies that fully recognize and support both mothers and their children.

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ alert calling for action against this dangerous bill rightly observed, “Abortion is the opposite of women’s health care and is an extreme violation of human rights,” and H.R. 3755 is the “most extreme abortion on demand bill ever seen.” We thank all the faithful in our two dioceses who contacted their senators’ offices. Your voices continue to be vitally needed.

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In prayer and in public, your voices are urgently needed to bring Gospel values to bear on vital decisions being made by those who represent you.

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The Virginia Catholic Conference is the public policy agency representing Virginia’s Catholic bishops and their two dioceses.

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