Springfield bishop condemns Massachusetts pro-abortion law as ‘morally evil’ overreach
Bishop William Byrne warned the law not only removes protections for unborn children but also reflects a broader cultural decline in which society rejects objective truth and treats human life as disposable. He also condemned the state Senate for approving the measure with an unrecorded standing vote that left no public record of how individual senators voted.
Bishop William Byrne of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, condemned the state’s newly expanded abortion law as “morally evil,” arguing that it strips protections from unborn children and reflects a deteriorating culture that has rejected God and the sacredness of human life.
“This legislation is not only a terrible, morally evil piece of legislative overreach, it also brings us to a very dark place where some human lives are not judged as worthy as others,” Bishop Byrne wrote in an Aug. 18 essay published by MassLive.
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed the pro-abortion “Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act,” into law Aug. 10. As Zeale News previously reported, it eliminates the state’s previous framework limiting abortions after 24 weeks and instead allows abortions at any point in pregnancy “based upon the professional judgement of the physician.”
Many Catholic voices have condemned the law, including CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt, who asked the state’s bishops to clarify Healey’s standing in the Church and whether she had incurred automatic excommunication.
Bishop Byrne noted that a group of “proud supporters, many dressed in celebratory pink,” surrounded Healey at the bill-signing ceremony, where supporters “spoke of empowerment for doctors and families.”
“The decision to end the life of a baby, especially one who might survive outside of the womb, is a serious, heart wrenching and tragic option,” he wrote. “What does this say about a culture that applauds something that is essentially ending a human life?”
Healey said during the signing ceremony that the law is intended to allow families with complications late in pregnancy to abort their babies in Massachusetts rather than having to travel to another state. She said mothers and families will now be “able to make their own choices.”
Bishop Byrne said the bill’s signing reminded him of the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome, when crowds waited for Caesar to give the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” that would decide whether a defeated combatant would live or die.
“I make this analogy not to vilify those faced with painful decisions, but rather to speak about our culture at large,” Bishop Byrne wrote.
He argued that when a culture abandons belief in God and any sense of sacredness, people inevitably attempt to fill the resulting void as “nature abhors a vacuum.” When objective truth is ignored or lost, men try to become “the definers of reality” and the surrounding culture “begins to deteriorate,” he said.
Bishop Byrne also wrote that the law places the state in “dubious company,” making it one of 10 states that allow “such unfettered access to an abortion right up until birth.”
The other states that impose no legal cutoff on abortion based on gestational age are Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont. Washington, D.C., also has no limit.
The bishop accused lawmakers of advancing the measure with inadequate public scrutiny during the final days of the legislature’s two-year formal session.
The House initially passed the bill July 22 in a 119-33 recorded vote. The Senate approved it July 31 in a 15-4 standing vote, meaning fewer than half of the chamber’s members participated and no public record identified how individual senators voted, according to The Boston Globe. The House later enacted the final version in a 121-35 vote.
“The vote in the Senate was done without public knowledge, no roll call,” Bishop Byrne wrote. “Equally sad is the fact that many senators stood in the hallway so that they could later say that they did not vote for the legislation.”
He added that the lawmakers who declined to vote were “equally as culpable” as those who voted yes on the pro-abortion law.
Bishop Byrne wrote that while he finds the secrecy “disgusting,” it gives him a strange hope that not all people are willing to “give the thumbs down when it comes to life and death.” He also pointed to public polling that he said demonstrated the law lacked widespread support.
The bishop, who said his more than 30 years of ministry have included working with women and men personally affected by abortion, concluded by reaffirming his diocese’s commitment to assisting women facing difficult pregnancies and upholding the sanctity of life.
“Here in the Diocese of Springfield, we remain committed to walking with moms who face a crisis pregnancy, providing resources, support and affirmation that their baby and they themselves have immeasurable worth,” Bishop Byrne wrote. “No one is disposable. I invite all people of goodwill to search their hearts for the truth, and to find the courage to stand for it.”
“Please don’t be distracted by the word games implying choice when there is none and by dressing this legislation up in pink,” he added. “Not only are many lives and souls in danger, so is our society.”
The legislation is scheduled to take effect Nov. 8.
