The Office of Life, Justice and Advocacy in the Diocese of St. Petersburg has heard from concerned parishioners regarding the extreme abortion law in New York which will end the lives of more unborn children and scar women and families. The faithful are shocked and heartbroken.

“We have received emails and phone calls and people are wondering what we should be doing. What New York has done is alarming and we don’t want to see similar legislation move forward in Florida,” said Sabrina Burton Schultz, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Advocacy.

On Jan. 22, 2019, New York governor Mario Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act which erodes any abortion restrictions. This date is significant because it’s the 46th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court case which legalized abortion in all 50 states. The new law in the State of New York allows for provisions such as granting nondoctors permission to perform abortions; removing protection for an infant accidentally born alive during an abortion; and allowing late-term abortions.

Bishop Gregory Parkes has been strong in condemning the new law and called the entire situation a disgrace.

“I was sickened when I watched the coverage of that bill being passed and put into law. People were cheering. This is nothing to celebrate. This is a disgrace, an abomination. It’s nothing less than murder that it’s legal to be able to abort a child, a baby, even up to the moment of them being born,” said Bishop Parkes.

In addition to prayer, Burton Schultz recommends that the faithful write their legislators to let them know that they will not tolerate similar legislation in Florida. “It is important to hold our elected officials accountable. We need to bring our moral convictions to the public square.” One way to do so is to sign up for action alerts from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.flaccb.org. Attending Catholic Days at the Capitol is another way of increasing our involvement in the legislative process.

To read more on this story and how New York bishops have reacted, click here.