1. Data Shows 6% Drop in Abortions After Overturning of Roe v. Wade, By Margot Sanger-Katz and Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times, October 31, 2022, Pg. A13 In the first two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, legal abortions nationwide declined by more than 10,000, a drop of about 6 percent, according to the first attempt at a nationwide count of abortions since the decision. Thirteen states banned or severely restricted abortion during those months, mostly in the South, and legal abortions in those states fell to close to zero, according to detailed estimates made by a consortium of academics and abortion providers. Nine more states added major abortion restrictions, and legal abortions in those states fell by a third. In states with bans and restrictions, there were about 22,000 fewer abortions in July and August, compared with the baseline of April, before the decision. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/upshot/legal-abortions-fall-roe.html__________________________________________________________ 2. FDA says providers offering medication abortion before pregnancy have gone rogue, The agency says it’s concerned the practice could endanger patients’ health., By Ben Leonard, Politico, October 31, 2022, 6:00 AM The FDA said health providers prescribing abortion medication to people who aren’t pregnant are acting without its authorization and that the practice is potentially dangerous for patients. “The FDA is concerned about the advance prescribing of mifepristone for this use,” an FDA spokesperson granted anonymity to describe sensitive agency policies told POLITICO on Friday. “Mifepristone is not approved for advance provision of a medical abortion.” The agency’s stance is a rebuke of a prescribing method, advance provision, that has grown as a way to counter states’ abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade fell this summer. The FDA’s position also puts the Biden administration — the president has publicly pledged to do everything within his power to preserve access to abortion — at odds with some abortion providers and abortion-rights activists. The FDA spokesperson told POLITICO that if mifepristone, which stops the flow of hormones supporting a fetus in the uterus, were prescribed before a patient is pregnant, providers wouldn’t be able to properly oversee care to ensure safety and effectiveness. Abortion medication is regulated more tightly by the FDA than other drugs, restricting how the regimen can be prescribed. Some telemedicine providers, including Choix, as well as in-person providers, have begun offering the pills before pregnancy as a way to expand access to abortion after the Supreme Court’s June decision that gave states the right to ban the procedure. … The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has called for the FDA to remove all restrictions on mifepristone. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/31/advance-provision-fda-00064075__________________________________________________________ 3. Publishing staffers call for end to Amy Coney Barrett’s book deal, By Matt Delaney, The Washington Times, October 31, 2022, Pg. A2 More than 600 publishing industry staffers have signed an open letter opposing Penguin Random House’s decision to publish Justice Amy Coney Barrett‘s book over her joining the Supreme Court’s majority opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade. Employees from publishers such as Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, MacMillan and Penguin Random House said Justice Barrett‘s Catholic faith influenced her support for overturning the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The open letter was first reported by Publisher’s Weekly.   … The employees say that publishing the book violates the code of conduct for German media firm Bertelsmann, the parent company of Penguin Random House. They also say that Human Rights Watch founder Robert L. Bernstein, a former publisher at Random House, has pointed to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares abortion access a human right. However, the word “abortion” doesn’t appear in the U.N.’s Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/oct/30/publishing-staffers-call-end-amy-coney-barretts-bo/__________________________________________________________ 4. Halloween Is for Heroes, Not Ghosts, By Esau McCaulley, The New York Times, October 30, 2022, Opinion Costumes that are funny one year feel dated by the next. That is why I’m drawn to the original and more weighty purpose of Halloween: It was meant to be a day set aside to remember the saints. On the Christian calendar stretching back centuries, Halloween is the day before All Saints Day. (Halloween is a contraction of “all hallows,” or “all saints,” evening.) The holiday, then, is intended to inspire imitation, not of villains, goons and goblins but of lives of heroic virtue and service. The Catholic Church, where the holiday originated, has a formal process for choosing saints that involves final approval by the pope. The Protestant tradition, of which I am a part, is much less structured. Our saints are recognized by widespread affirmation of the lasting impacts of their lives. … Saints are not simply those with great outward achievements. St. Thérèse of Lisieux grew up in 19th-century France admiring the heroic actions of the saints and concluded that she could never accomplish such outstanding deeds. Instead, she chose what became known as “the little way.” She pursued the tiny virtues, believing that every interaction, no matter how small, gave her an opportunity to show God’s love through a kind word or act of service and to display patience with all the inconveniences of life. Thérèse entered a convent at the age of 15 and died of tuberculosis at 24. She wasn’t on this earth for long, but her small acts of service, love and kindness had such a profound impact on those around her that her vision of the little way still inspires people today. … I teach my children about saints from my own life. I tell them about my great-grandmother Sophia, who died when I was 3. Our family remembers her as a woman of deep piety whose faith allowed her to survive and even at some points thrive despite the racist laws and customs of Jim Crow Alabama. When asked how she bore it, her answer was always the same: “The good lord carried me through.” I recount the stories about my still-living grandfather. The sweet old man with the ever-present smile is more complex than he appears. He traveled the back roads of Alabama, dodging sundown towns to preach revivals in rundown country churches for little more than gas money and a meal. The bittersweetness of their lives is my children’s birthright. The costumes may not last beyond the year, nor will the candy survive the autumn, but I trust the memory of the saints will abide. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/opinion/halloween-saints-heroes.html__________________________________________________________ 5. High stakes in N. Carolina court races with majority on line, By Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press, October 30, 2022, 6:04 PM The two North Carolina Supreme Court seats up for election in November have taken on extra significance as the outcome could flip the court’s partisan makeup during a period of political polarization. Registered Democrats hold a 4-3 advantage on the court, but Republicans would retake the majority for the first time since 2016 should they win at least one race. The seats carry eight-year terms, so barring unplanned retirements, Republicans would be assured of keeping the upper hand for at least 4 1/2 years if successful. … Beyond usual legal conflicts, justices could hear challenges to policies enacted by a Republican-controlled General Assembly that could earn veto-proof majorities in November. Those could include legislation on voting, guns and abortion that Cooper has stopped by threatened or actual vetoes since 2019. https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-judicial-government-and-politics-a18bcd581e1ba7c572ea77b3369d8cc6__________________________________________________________ 6. The Legacies of Vatican II, By D.G. Hart, The Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2022, Pg. C9, Book Review ’Prisoners” is the word New York Times columnist Ross Douthat recently used to describe the Second Vatican Council, an assembly that 60 years ago brought thousands of bishops from around the world to Rome. In four stages between 1962 and 1965, the Council produced four constitutions, three declarations, and nine decrees. Mr. Douthat contends that Vatican II incited a never-ending struggle among the faithful. Vatican II created “intractable-seeming divisions” that leave “contemporary Catholicism facing a set of problems and dilemmas that Providence has not yet seen fit to resolve.” … For some historians, Protestantism unleashed forces that would eventually give us consumerism, family breakdown and sexual permissiveness of all kinds. For George Weigel and John McGreevy, the Reformation is less important than the French Revolution for evaluating Vatican II. For Mr. Weigel, author of “To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II” and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the work of the mid-’60s ecumenical council offers a remedy for what ails both modern society and the church even if fellow Catholics debate its meaning. … Mr. Weigel provides a detailed commentary on the Council’s primary texts. He emphasizes continuity between the church’s “up-dating” (aggiornamento) and what previous generations had taught. This strategy puts Mr. Weigel at odds with traditionalists who complain that Vatican II abandoned Rome’s historic conservatism, and progressives who use the Council to modernize the church further. Mr. Weigel himself looks to John XXIII, the pope who called the council. John’s aim was to restore the church’s evangelistic purpose—to recover the fullness of Christ for all of humanity in a world ravaged by war. Neither reactionary nor progressive, the Council was, for Mr. Weigel, a “constant deepening” of Rome’s historic witness. https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-books-on-the-vatican-modern-catholicism-global-history-to-sanctify-world-11666972133? __________________________________________________________ 7. Michigan Republicans Show How to Lose on Abortion, By Nicholas Tomaino, The Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2022, Pg. A15, Opinion Michigan voters may be about to approve an abortion law that would be among the most permissive in the country. If they do, the reason will be a combination of proponents’ dishonesty and opponents’ negligence. … Proposal 3 is styled as a restoration of Roe, but the language goes further. The amendment’s opening clause provides that “every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including “abortion care.” The term “individual”—not “woman” or “adult”—could preclude laws requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions, says former Michigan Solicitor General John Bursch. … Republicans are trying to have it both ways, refusing to compromise while avoiding political responsibility for an uncompromising position. The wiser course would be the opposite: not to abandon their principles, but to understand their constituents’ present limits, enact restrictions that have more popular support, and do the hard work of forming a pro-life consensus over the long run. When the U.S. Supreme Court took on abortion, the Republicans who control Michigan’s Legislature sat on their hands. They had an opportunity to pass legislation amending the 1931 law—by imposing, say, a ban on abortion after 15 weeks—only to have Ms. Whitmer veto it. Doing so would have given them the opportunity to show voters what they would do if not for their extreme governor. Instead, they countered the Democratic “blueprint” with nothing, which may ensure a political defeat. Mr. Tomaino is an assistant editorial features editor at the Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/michigan-republicans-abortion-roe-dobbs-voters-proposal-constituion-extreme-law-individual-planned-parenthood-11666987025?__________________________________________________________ 8. Abortion access could hinge on state election results, By Gary D. Robertson and Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press, October 29, 2022, 11:07 AM The online commercials in a state Senate race in some Raleigh, North Carolina, suburbs make an ominous claim, similar to one repeated across the country ahead of the Nov. 8 election: The Republican candidate “wants to strip away our reproductive rights.”The Republican, Mark Cavaliero, says the Planned Parenthood-affiliated political action committee behind the ads is misrepresenting his views, which he says stop short of endorsing a complete abortion ban in one of the Southern states with the fewest abortion restrictions. “There should be some limit,” he said in an interview. “Where that limit is is up for discussion.” The same theme is echoing in elections across the country in the first nationwide election since the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that protected the right to abortion nationally. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abortion-access-could-hinge-on-state-election-results/2022/10/30/0d6163f4-5856-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html__________________________________________________________ 9. Iowa governor’s lawyer pushes for 6-week abortion ban, By David Pitt, Associated Press, October 28, 2022, 6:04 PM An Iowa judge should allow a law passed in 2018 that bans most abortions to take effect, three years after the measure was ruled unconstitutional, lawyers for Gov. Kim Reynolds argued Friday. Chris Schandevel, a lawyer for the Republican governor, said Judge Celene Gogerty should set aside a 2019 permanent injunction that prevented Iowa from enforcing a law that would block abortions once cardiac activity can be detected. That is usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they’re pregnant. Schandevel said the injunction rests entirely on an Iowa Supreme Court 2018 decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion under the Iowa Constitution and cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992 and 1973 that established abortion rights nationally. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/iowa-governors-lawyer-pushes-for-6-week-abortion-ban/2022/10/28/74015224-5705-11ed-ac8b-08bbfab1c5a5_story.html__________________________________________________________ 10. Record number of Swiss Catholics left the Church in 2021, Around 2,500 more people left than in the previous record-setting year of 2019., By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, October 28, 2022, 12:59 PM A record number of Swiss Catholics formally left the Church in 2021, according to new statistics. The Swiss Institute of Pastoral Sociology (SPI) in St. Gallen said that 34,182 people left the Church last year, around 2,500 more than in the previous record-setting year of 2019. Around 2.96 million people remained members of the Church at the end of 2021, out of a total Swiss population of roughly 8.7 million. The Protestant Church in Switzerland also reported a record number of departures in 2021, with 28,540 exits. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/record-number-of-swiss-catholics-left-the-church-in-2021/__________________________________________________________ 11. A ‘Citizens Convention’ Will Decide Whether France Legalizes Assisted Suicide, Polling shows that 93% of French citizens support establishing a ‘right to die’ in the country., By Edie Heipel, Catholic News Agency, October 28, 2022 This month 150 randomly-chosen French citizens will debate whether or not to adopt legislation that will legalize “assisted dying” as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to move forward on proposals to legalize assisted suicide. The citizens’ panel will take part in a six-month debate over whether to allow legal euthanasia and assisted suicide. Polling shows that 93% of French citizens support establishing a “right to die” in the country. Macron said Sept. 13 that the convention would be used to “then possibly change the legal framework by the end of 2023,” according to European media outlet EURACTIV. https://www.ncregister.com/cna/a-citizens-convention-will-decide-whether-france-legalizes-assisted-suicide__________________________________________________________

TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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