As Texas’ abortion ban was set to take effect Sept. 1, the state’s largest antiabortion group implored residents to bring lawsuits against violators of the law. Since then, Texas abortion opponents have charted a more cautious course.

Antiabortion activists haven’t sued the physician who last weekend said publicly that he was defying the Republican-led Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as SB 8, saying they have little incentive to make a test case out of his actions. The doctor, Alan Braid, practices in San Antonio and said he performed an abortion this month that exceeded the new restrictions.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-texas-abortion-opponents-arent-suing-dr-alan-braid-over-new-law-11632262448?
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2. Cardinal O’Malley at safeguarding summit: ‘The wrongs done to God’s people must be corrected’, By Catholic News Agency, September 22, 2021, 5:30 AM

Cardinal Seán O’Malley told a safeguarding summit this week that “the wrongs done to God’s people must be corrected.”

Preaching at Mass on Sept. 20 at a conference in Warsaw, Poland, the archbishop of Boston called for an end to clerical abuse and cover-ups.

“We are gathered here because so many of our brothers and sisters have suffered at the hands of abusive clergy who have perpetrated evil acts by using their office to abuse others or to cover up such abuse. And many times, those who have suffered have been rejected in their suffering when they spoke out,” he said.

“This cannot be what Jesus wants of his Church; this cannot be the Church of a loving and reconciling God. Abuse and its cover up must stop and the wrongs done to God’s people must be corrected.”

O’Malley, the president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was speaking during a four-day meeting, “Our Common Mission of Safeguarding God’s Children,” supported by the pontifical commission and the Bishops’ Conferences of Central and Eastern Europe.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249055/cardinal-o-malley-at-safeguarding-summit-the-wrongs-done-to-god-s-people-must-be-corrected
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3. Pope Francis: Christian faith in Europe is being ‘diluted by consumerism’, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, September 22, 2021, 4:30 AM

Pope Francis said Wednesday that the Christian faith in Europe is being diluted by consumerism and ideologies, making prayer and the witness of humble love especially needed today.

“Pray, because this is what the People of God are called to above all: to worship, to pray, to journey, to wander, to do penance, and in this to feel the peace and the joy that the Lord gives us,” the pope said in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Sept. 22.

“And this is of particular importance on the European continent, where the presence of God … is being diluted by consumerism and in the ‘vapors’ of a unitary way of thinking … that is the fruit of the mixture of old and new ideologies,” he said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249056/pope-francis-christian-faith-in-europe-is-being-diluted-by-consumerism
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4. Down syndrome issue at center of Missouri abortion law case, By Jim Salter, Associated Press, September 21, 2021

A federal appeals court is deciding the fate of a Missouri law that puts sweeping restrictions on abortions, and a focal point of oral arguments on Tuesday was a provision prohibiting abortions based solely on a Down syndrome diagnosis.

The law adopted in 2019 would ban abortions at the eighth week of pregnancy. The full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis isn’t expected to rule for several weeks. In June, a three-judge 8th Circuit panel upheld an injunction from U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs prohibiting Missouri from enforcing the law’s provisions, but the full court decided to hear the case.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-courts-health-laws-st-louis-8310eaa67debfe2f06bd331d918b2cd9
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5. Mexican Supreme Court invalidates medical conscientious objection law, By David Ramos, Walter Sanchez Silva, Catholic News Agency, September 21, 2021, 11:25 AM

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Monday invalidated an article of the General Health Law that broadly provided for medical personnel’s conscientious objection to participating in treatments, such as abortion.

“The law did not establish the guidelines and limits necessary for conscientious objection to be exercised without jeopardizing the human rights of other persons, especially the right to health,” the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation announced Sept. 20.

The law, adopted in 2018, did not allow medical professionals to invoke conscientious objection “when the life of the patient is put at risk or it is a medical emergency.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249049/mexican-supreme-court-invalidates-medical-conscientious-objection-law
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6. Justice Department asks Supreme Court to uphold legal abortion, By Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency, September 21, 2021, 10:15 AM

The Justice Department on Monday asked the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

The court on Monday had announced that oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a major abortion case, will be held on Dec. 1. The case involves a challenge to Mississippi’s restrictions on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The state of Mississippi, in defending its law, has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its Roe ruling altogether.

In an amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court on Monday, the Justice Department argued that the state is seeking to overturn nearly 50 years of court rulings that upheld legal abortion, and asked the court to maintain its previous abortion rulings. 

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249048/in-dobbs-case-justice-department-asks-supreme-court-to-uphold-roe-s-finding-of-legal-abortion
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