WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The U.S. are calling for nationwide prayer to St. Joseph for an end to abortion as the Supreme Court is set to hear an abortion pill case on March 26, with an expected ruling in June.

READ: Supreme Court to hear arguments on pivotal FDA abortion pill case in late March

In an announcement issued by Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, the American bishops wrote,

On March 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that has the potential to make a major impact in the widespread accessibility of chemical abortion (abortion pills). Chemical abortions are now the most common form of abortion in the United States.

The case is in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) promoting the availability of chemical abortion while ignoring risks to women and violating federal law. In short, the FDA has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry and turned neighborhood pharmacies into chemical abortion providers.

While the Supreme Court case is not about ending chemical abortion, it can restore limitations that the FDA has overridden. When a Supreme Court decision is released, probably in June, we can expect a public and political reaction similar to the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Calling for a national campaign of prayer beginning on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation and the day before the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments for the abortion pill case, the bishops asked for Catholics to invoke the intercession of St. Joseph, whose feast is celebrated March 19, under the title Defender of Life “for the end of abortion and the protection of women and preborn children.”

March 25 also marks the anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s pro-life encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), in which he affirmed the Church’s constant teaching on the sanctity of human life and the gravity of the crime of abortion.

READ: Pro-life doctors sign on to FDA abortion pill case set to be heard by Supreme Court

The prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life, is as follows:

Dearest St. Joseph, at the word of an angel, you lovingly took Mary into your home. As God’s humble servant, you guided the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem, welcomed Jesus as your own son in the shelter of a manger, and fled far from your homeland for the safety of both Mother and Child. We praise God that as their faithful protector, you never hesitated to sacrifice for those entrusted to you. May your example inspire us also to welcome, cherish, and safeguard God’s most precious gift of life. Help us to faithfully commit ourselves to the service and defense of human life —especially where it is vulnerable or threatened. Obtain for us the grace to do the will of God in all things. Amen.

The bishops have asked Catholics to offer this prayer daily, from March 25 through June, until a ruling is issued. Online and print versions of the prayer can be found at www.respectlife.org/prayer-to-st-joseph.

READ: Could the Supreme Court overturn the FDA’s legally dubious abortion pill approval?

The U.S. bishops have previously denounced the loosening of restrictions surrounding the use of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.

In December 2021, when the Biden FDA announced it was eliminating the requirement of in-person dispensing for mifepristone, thereby paving the way for today’s mail-order abortion industry, the bishops condemned the move as yet another expansion of “the devastating tragedy of abortion.”

In January 2023, after the FDA announced the further loosening of safety requirements to allow pharmacies to distribute the chemical abortion drug by prescription, Bishop Burbidge, as chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, again reaffirmed the Church’s defense of the unborn, condemning the expansion of the use of chemical abortion, saying,

The Catholic Church is consistent in its teaching on upholding the dignity of all life, and that must include care for both women and their children. We decry the continuing push for the destruction of innocent human lives and the loosening of vital safety standards for vulnerable women. This week’s action by the FDA not only advances the obvious tragedy of taking the lives of the preborn, but is also harmful to women in need.

READ: Catholic charity used federal funds to promote abortion, contraception in Africa: report

The U.S. bishops have shared information on the dangers of the chemical abortion drug and the rollback of restrictions by the FDA. 

On the other hand, the American bishops have continued to support and fund Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which has been shown to promote abortion, contraception, and sexual immorality in several African countries.

According to a newly released report by the Lepanto Institute and the Population Research Institute, Catholic Relief Services has promoted contraception through the use of condoms as well as gravely sinful sexual activity such as masturbation and has been shown to refer young girls to abortion.

The head of the African Bishops’ Communications Committee alerted the African bishops that the activities of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) constitute a grave departure from Catholic teaching on sexual morality and the sanctity of life in response to the report, which included an in-person investigation on the ground at the African offices and sites of CRS and their collaborators.

These findings have been detailed in the lengthy 120-page report of the Lepanto Institute and Population Research Institute, available online.

Despite the two institutes’ documentation and supporting evidence, drawn from online sources, in-person interviews, hard copies of CRS materials obtained from their offices in Africa, and a lengthy year-long on-the-ground investigation conducted by LI and PRI, the USCCB has yet to address the problem of CRS’s overseas promotion of abortion and contraception.

READ: Most American bishops are going along with Pope Francis’ ‘blessings’ for homosexual ‘couples’

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