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ABORTION-CUPICH Sep-6-2006 (730 words) xxxn
Bishop urges civil debate in South Dakota abortion referendum
By Catholic News Service
RAPID CITY, S.D. (CNS) -- Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City has called for civil, reasoned public debate as South Dakota voters face a Nov. 7 referendum on legislation that would outlaw most abortions.
"The coming referendum presents an opportunity for South Dakota to model for the nation the manner in which substantial public debate regarding this volatile moral issue can be carried on with respect, honesty and conviction," Bishop Cupich wrote in the Sept. 11 issue of America, a national Catholic magazine published by the Jesuits in New York.
The referendum was initiated by supporters of legalized abortion after the South Dakota Legislature adopted a law that would ban all abortions except those necessary to save a mother's life.
Gov. Mike Rounds signed the legislation in March. In mid-June, less than two weeks before the law was to take effect, it was suspended because enough voters had signed petitions to force a popular referendum on it.
"Conflicting positions on abortion and public policy are deeply held and passionately argued," Bishop Cupich wrote. He said civility and clarity are especially important when passions run deep.
Bishop Cupich urged attention to three principles in the debate:
-- "It must be recognized that both the issue of abortion and legal restrictions on abortion are inevitably moral questions informed by moral values."
-- "There should be agreement that any discussion of abortion and the law must recognize both the suffering of the unborn children in abortion and the suffering of pregnant women in dire circumstances."
-- "There must be a commitment to dialogue that is civil, interactive and substantial."
On framing abortion as a moral issue, Bishop Cupich said that science can help inform the debate, "but science does not resolve questions of moral value and moral choice."
"Society cannot escape what is essentially a moral question: When does human life deserve legal protection from the state?" he said. "And society certainly cannot escape this dilemma by denying that it is fundamentally a moral issue, no matter which position one chooses."
He said the claim that abortion opponents are illegitimately trying to impose personal beliefs through public law when there is no consensus on the issue does not stand up to scrutiny. "If consensus were the ultimate criterion for public action, most of the great moral accomplishments of American law -- the end of slavery, the granting of the vote to women, the establishment of legal rights for working men and women and the civil rights legislation of the 1960s -- would never have been passed," he said.
He said neither side does the abortion issue justice by focusing solely on the rights of the child or on the rights of the woman. "Abortion is a searing and divisive public policy issue precisely because two significant sets of rights are in conflict, and no matter which set of laws it enacts, society must choose between those rights," he said.
He said the Catholic position on protecting human life "is greatly enhanced when it is constantly articulated with a full and compassionate recognition of the terrible dilemmas that pregnant women often face, realizing that even such dilemmas do not justify the taking of innocent human life."
He said if South Dakotans commit themselves to civility and honesty in the debate over the referendum, they will emerge with a deeper understanding of "the profound issues involved in this vote."
In his monthly column in the August issue of West River Catholic, the diocesan newspaper, Bishop Cupich highlighted the relationship between public policy and morality and said that "the very foundations of government based on law are undermined" when government does not "use its power to protect the rights of each citizen, particularly the most vulnerable."
He said government protection of human life and dignity is a principle "common to all humanity," not an issue of religious faith.
"There is room for discussion and even disagreement about how to best achieve the goal of protecting innocent human lives," he wrote. "Regardless, the discussion must always be conducted with charity."
A recent survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research indicated that among South Dakota voters who expressed an opinion a slight majority opposed the new law, but they would favor such a law by a 2-to-1 margin if it included exceptions for rape or incest as well as danger of death.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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