On Roe V Wade Anniversary, Philly Archbishop Calls Abortion 'Homicide'

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Friday is the 43rd anniversary of the seminal Roe v Wade decision that granted women the right to decide on issues of abortion under the 14th Amendment, and Philadelphia area church leaders and women’s health organizations are championing their causes.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Archbishop, Charles Chaput, broadly condemned abortion and the Roe v. Wade decision, calling it “homicide” in a column published Friday.

“It has poisoned our public life for 43 years. It has enabled the killing of tens of millions of unborn children, an entire American generation,” Chaput wrote.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood advocates gathered in Center City to show their support for the decision.

Groups were on Broad Street between Walnut and Locust on Friday, holding signs that read “Reclaim Roe” and chanting similar slogans.

Attorney Gloria Allred and several other local pro-choice advocates were on hand.

Chaput focused on the case of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia physician convicted of murdering three infants after they were born. He went on to cite statistics from a Marist University study that said 80 percent of Americans would restrict abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy.

Pro-choice supporters, however, say that Gosnell’s criminal actions have nothing to do with what Planned Parenthood is all about.

They also dispute the statistics. The Marist University study, they point out, was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus, a notable conservative and pro-life organization.

In a Philly.com article warning of the threats to women’s health care posed by ”extremist politicians,” Dayle Steinberg, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, pointed to a Bloomberg Politics poll saying 67 percent of Americans don’t want to see Roe overturned.

Both Chaput and Steinberg attempted to claim monopoly over the younger generation, citing the number of younger people showing up for rallies and furthering the debate over social media and in the streets.

The next significant legal case on the abortion issue will hit the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2. Whole Women’s Health v. Cole addresses provisions in a Texas law that would restrict access to abortion there.