US bishops call Catholics to prayer, action against abortion pills

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) formally launched a nationwide campaign Aug. 18 calling Catholics to pray, educate others, and advocate against the growing availability of abortion pills, the latest step in the bishops’ push to curb chemical abortion in the post-Dobbs era.

The USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities said the initiative will continue through Oct. 31, encompassing Respect Life Month, which the Catholic Church observes each October.

“Every abortion involves the death of a child and harm to the mother,” Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the USCCB, and Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in a joint invitation.

“Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” the bishops added.

Participants are encouraged to seek the intercession of St. Joseph under the title “Defender of Life,” learn and share information about abortion pills, and send messages to pharmacies, distributors, and pharmaceutical companies involved in their distribution through the Respect Life Prayer and Action campaign.

The bishops said in the invitation that Food and Drug Administration policies allowing abortion pills to be prescribed through telehealth appointments and distributed through pharmacies and online have created a “nationwide mail-order abortion industry” that can circumvent state pro-life laws.

“This leaves women vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision,” Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Thomas said. “It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”

As Zeale News previously reported, Bishop Thomas first announced plans for the campaign in June while marking the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

“The victory of the Dobbs decision risks being undone by the massive influx of abortion pills,” Bishop Thomas said at the time. “While the Dobbs decision gave states the freedom to pass pro-life laws and protect preborn children, these laws are now being undermined.”

The bishops have also pursued legislative action against mifepristone, the first drug typically used in the two-drug chemical abortion regimen.

In April, Zeale News reported that the USCCB backed the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, legislation sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., that would withdraw FDA approval of mifepristone for abortions.

In supporting the legislation, Bishop Thomas said the bishops have opposed keeping mifepristone on the market and have advocated, at a minimum, for restoring earlier federal safety protocols requiring in-person dispensing and follow-up care.

The campaign also comes amid pressure from Catholic and other pro-life organizations on the Trump administration to take action on abortion pills.

As Zeale News reported July 30, CatholicVote and other pro-life groups have urged the administration to reverse Biden-era policies expanding mail-order access to mifepristone. CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt has called on President Donald Trump to rescind the previous administration’s expansion of mifepristone distribution via telehealth.

Catholics can sign up for the bishops’ prayer and action campaign, which will continue through the end of October.