Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the U.S. bishops’ pro-life chair, minced no words on Friday, August 5, when he publicly called on President Joe Biden to increase support and care for mothers and children. His message was in response to an executive order from Biden that facilitates abortion by allow states to use Medicaid to pay for abortion services for women traveling from other states. “I continue to call on the President and all our elected officials to increase support and care to mothers and babies, rather than facilitate the destruction of defenseless, voiceless human beings,” Lori said. “Even preceding the Dobbs decision, my brother bishops and I have implored the nation to stand with moms in need, and work together to protect and support women and children.” “Continued promotion of abortion takes lives and irreparably harms vulnerable pregnant mothers, their families, and society,” Lori stated. “It is the wrong direction to take at a moment when we should be working to support women and to build up a culture of life.” Biden’s Aug. 3 executive order directed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra to “consider action to advance access to reproductive healthcare services” for women, particularly those who travel out of state to have abortions. It was not clear from the language of the executive order exactly which abortion services would be covered. Under the Hyde Amendment, the use of federal funding for abortions is prohibited except in the cases of rape, incest, or a “life-endangering physical condition” that places the mother “in danger of death.” At an Aug. 3 press...
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