The following is an op-ed by MARIA VALENCIA, associate director of culture of life at the Diocese of San Diego, GINA VIDES, parish engagement strategist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and MARIA MARTINEZ-MONT, Respect Life and Gabriel Project coordinator for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on January 28.
Together, we represent the three major metropolitan dioceses of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, totaling more than 6 million Catholics in California.
Reading the December California Future of Abortion Council report was a sobering moment for us. More than 40 California organizations, including the offices of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, offered 45 recommendations to expand abortion access, from funding to loans for physicians to increased “abortion care later in pregnancy.” For a woman seeking an abortion, these organizations and lawmakers want the state to be a sanctuary, offering “gas, lodging, transportation, childcare, doula support, food, lost wages.” But for a woman who wants to carry her unborn child to term or needs these resources for her born child? Crickets.
