Bishops hail abortion ban, urge more efforts to build culture of life

Published: 2006-03-07

PIERRE, S.D. (CNS) -- Two Catholic bishops hailed South Dakota's new law banning nearly all abortions, but they also urged efforts to transform people's hearts and minds to reject abortion and build a culture that respects all life from the moment of conception to natural death. On March 6 in Pierre, the state capital, Gov. Mike Rounds signed into law a bill prohibiting all intentional abortions except those to save a mother's life. Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City said South Dakota citizens and their elected officials "can be justifiably proud of their efforts to restore the rights of the unborn child," but "a change in law and structures," he said, "is not sufficient." Society must build a culture of life that "begins with the unborn" and also ensures livable wages, education, adequate health care, help for single mothers and "an end to the death penalty," he said. In a separate statement, Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo, N.D., apostolic administrator of the Sioux Falls Diocese in South Dakota, said: "Human life is sacred because it involves the creative action of God. ... None of us can claim the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."

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