By Judie Brown
You may have heard of sanctuary cities and thought the term only applied to a city that protects illegal immigrants. But if you thought that was the case, you would be wrong—at least when it comes to St. Louis, Missouri.
According to a recent St. Louis public radio report: “Two St. Louis aldermen, in partnership with NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, have launched an effort to make the city a sanctuary for reproductive rights.” It went on to quote Alderman Megan-Ellyia Green, D-15th Ward, who stated, “We are a board of people who are very aware of the challenges for women that are being brought forth at both the state and national level. And so it’s up to us at the local level to really ensure that women’s rights are protected.”
The proposed ordinance would add pregnancy and “reproductive health decisions” to an existing city ordinance that purports to shield citizens from discrimination. Or at least that’s the perception created by proponents of this new proposal.
But not so fast, says Robert J. Carlson, archbishop of St. Louis. On Tuesday of this week, Carlson issued a strong statement on the proposal, saying, in part:
This proposed ordinance seeks to make St. Louis a sanctuary city for abortion, an act that kills innocent unborn children. This is not what our city should stand for; rather, St. Louis should be a sanctuary for life and compassion, especially compassion for mothers and their developing children.
Board Bill 203 is vague and ambiguous but could have terrible consequences for religious institutions. For example, a Catholic school or Catholic Charities agency could be fined by the City of St. Louis for not employing persons who publicly promote practices such as abortion. In addition, our Catholic institutions could be fined for not including coverage for abortion in their insurance plans.
Carlson goes on to tell his flock: “As the shepherd of the faithful Catholics of this region, let me be clear that the Archdiocese of St. Louis cannot and will not comply with any ordinance like Board Bill 203 that attempts to force the Church and others to become unwilling participants in the abortion business. There is no room for compromise on such a matter. This is a matter of fundamental religious and moral beliefs.”
Thank God for Archbishop Carlson.
We know and we understand the facts about abortion. We know that abortion is genocide against the black community. We know that abortion is dangerous to women. The emergency 911 calls dealing with victims of Planned Parenthood’s brutal abortion practices in that city make this clear. And of course we know that abortion is deadly to preborn babies.
Abortion and its progeny are contradictory in every way to the standard definition of sanctuary—a consecrated place or a place of safety designed to protect the innocent from murder and mayhem.
It is inconceivable that such a proposal would exist, but our fear is that such ideas will multiply because the abortion cartel is on the ropes. And desperate measures are required when your main income source is the killing of the innocent and the maiming of their mothers.
Turn to Archbishop Robert Carlson and his heroic, fearless words as you examine what you can do to protect the innocent and make sure THEY are the ones given sanctuary rather than their killers: “Rather than aiding and abetting the abortion industry, the archdiocese, through its various ministries and programs, will continue to extend both spiritual and material assistance to all those in need, especially the poor and those women facing crisis pregnancies who feel they have no one else to turn to for help—both during their pregnancies as well as after their child is born.”
To you I say, no matter where you live, go and do likewise. Archbishop Carlson’s words should be our own.
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image: Phil Roussin | CC-2.0