Abortion is not a right
Abortion is not a right in USA is the theme of the Seminar held on 19 June at the CEU University of Madrid.The protagonists of this change encourage civil society to be constant in the defense of life
This Monday, June 19, between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., the “USA Seminar on abortion is not a right” took place. The protagonists of change speak’ in the Graduates room of the San Pablo CEU University (C/Julián Romea 23, Madrid). During this seminar, which was attended by some 200 people, they took a tour and explained the keys to the transformation that has taken place in the USA regarding abortion, from being one of the first countries to approve abortion to restricting its practice, valuing and approving support measures for pregnant women and in defense of the unborn.
The seminar was inaugurated by Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, President of the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, who thanked all the organizations that have made this seminar possible Family and Human Dignity, One Of Us, NEOS, Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations, Assembly for la Vida, Political Network for Values and CEU.
Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza pointed out: “What has happened in the United States is something enormously relevant, something that can serve as an example for us, something that we can and should congratulate ourselves on and we hope that this change that is perceived in the positions of the United States will be spread throughout the world as well”. The President of the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, also stressed the importance of society and civil organizations: “Change comes from society, from a society that moves, from a society that defends values, from organizations in the civil world that can lead to results like those that have been obtained in the USA”.
They intervened in person: Amy Sinclair, President of the Iowa Senate; Wendy Wright, President and CEO of Christian Freedom International and Past President of Concerned Women for America; Jane Adolphe, Professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law (Florida) and Founder and Executive Director of the International Catholic Jurist Forum; Alejandro Bermúdez, Executive Director of Tilma Strategies; Kelsey Wicks, Executive Director. ACI Group/EWTN News; and John M. Klink, Diplomatic Negotiator to the United Nations. And onine participated: Eddie Lucio Jr., Former Texas State Senator; Joseph Grogan, Former Director of Domestic Policy; Carrie Severino, Professor of Law, President of the Judicial Crisis Network; Clarke Forsythe, Legal Expert at Americans United for Life (AUL); and William L. Saunders, Professor at Catholic University of America and Director, M.A. Program in Human Rights at The Institute for Human Ecology; and Dan Lipinski, Former U.S. representative for Illinois’s 3rd congressional district (2005 to 2021).
In the first panel: Political approach and from civil society, the importance of perseverance in promoting legislative initiatives, of carrying out policies in favor of maternity and the need for collaboration between public administrations and civil society and with all maternity support groups. It featured Amy Sinclair, Eddie Lucio Jr., Wendy Wright, and Joseph Grogan.
In the second Panel: Legal approach, where reference was made to the importance of the independence of judges, Carrie Severino, Jane Adolphe, Clarke Forsythe and William L. Saunders participated.
In the third panel: Media and social repercussion, where the role of social networks as a means to promote cultural change was analyzed, the following intervened: Alejandro Bermúdez, Kelsey Wicks and John M. Klink and Dan Lipinski.
Here are some statements from the speakers:
Amy Sinclair: “The life defense is a valuable defense to take on. And I want to encourage you because while in the United States for 50 years we went in the direction of harming life and not defending the unborn, we are currently in the process of really embracing the right of states to protect and defend their own citizens. . And while it’s not going to be an immediate solution, there are people who have passionately advocated for human life since its inception and I’m proud to say that Iowa has been a strong supporter of that fight and was honestly one of the first states to push for what became a national movement that ultimately overthrew Roe Vs. Wade.”
Eddie Lucio highlighted: “The fight for the life of the unborn is also the fight of all the vulnerable lives to whom we owe ourselves as public servants”; and noted: “The pro-life movement is broader than the fight against abortion, because it implies that we must protect families with health care or transportation expenses, everything that hinders the birth of a new life.”
Wendy Wright explained: “The problem we were facing is that many Americans were unaware of the harm that abortion causes to the unborn, their suffering, and they were also unaware of the consequences of abortion on women.” proliferate in the different states legislative initiatives on: The basics of what abortion means and how it harms women (these initiatives made known information and support proposals to continue with motherhood) and show women the signs of life of children in the womb (sound of her heart, demonstration of the pain caused to fetuses in abortions). “We worked over decades to present these initiatives. When they were rejected, they were reintroduced at the state level and Every time these bills were presented, the number of people who received information about what abortion really means for the unborn and for the mother increased.This produced a slow change in society, which received more and more information until the time came when people began to ask themselves ‘why don’t we vote on this?’” Wright also specified: “At the same time the entire support network that exists in the US for those women who they decide to go ahead with their pregnancy and have difficulties being mothers”.
Joseph Grogan: “The perseverance in the struggle by the pro-life movement has been very important, their insistence, they did not give up. They never lost hope and kept going.” And he encouraged working together for this cause: “It is very important that European activists work with Americans, because this experience has been very positive and it is essential that we continue together to continue making progress.”
Jane Adolphe made reference to the importance of academic training: “In recent years there has also been the training of a new generation of legislators by universities, mostly Catholic, which trained in the philosophy of natural law and in the possibility of dialogue between faith and reason”.
Clarke Forysthe, which told the story of the Roe v. Wade, pointed out that after the new sentence, 13 states announced measures to legislate with this new doctrine, limiting the weeks until which abortion can be done and legislating in favor of measures that favor maternity. “Was the US prepared for this sentence? Yes, because of the decades of preparation of civil organizations that worked to protect and help mothers in vulnerable situations, yes, because of all the years of information that the pro-life movement had provided to society.” And he explained that there are currently 23 states that have taken measures to limit abortion in the US. She also said: “Abortion damages everything and solves nothing. You have to show that women progress in states where abortion is restricted.”
William Saunder He specified: “We have to work culturally to defend women in everything in which they need support.” And he sent a message of encouragement to Spain: “Never give up, for 50 years we have fought for the truth and we have achieved it”.
Carrie Severino explained that “For a long time, judges with more political than legal skills were chosen. In the previous legislature there was a coincidence that the Senate did not have a sufficient minority to block the appointments of the judges that have finally made it possible to change the ruling that affirmed that abortion is a constitutional right in the United States.