abortion

Massachusetts Bishops: Eliminating ‘Any Legal Restraint’ on Abortion ‘Gravely Immoral’

The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts warn removing “any legal restraint on late-term abortion” is a “radical measure which is gravely immoral.”

In a letter dated July 29, 2026, Massachusetts’ Catholic bishops spoke out forcefully against the “Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act” (H. 5595), an extreme bill that removed the state’s remaining restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks and permits abortion up until birth.

Governor Maura Healey, who identifies as Catholic and lesbian, signed the bill into law on Monday, August 10. She posted a video of herself signing the legislation on X, surrounded by smiling women applauding the expansion of legalized death for preborn infants.

The advance of H. 5595 through the Massachusetts Legislature prompted the state’s Catholic bishops to speak out.

“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” they wrote.

“The … elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral.”

The bishops added,

Life is beautiful! …We reaffirm the Church’s call to its own community and to civil society to provide the resources to welcome and cherish the gift of life, as well as to accompany women and families who have known the tragedy of abortion.

You can read the letter in full below:

Bishops-Statement-on-Late-Term-Abortion-BillDownload

Popular Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, rebuked Gov. Healey’s decision to sign the bill into law.

“Please understand what this [law] means. A fully-formed child, moments before exiting the birth canal, can be eviscerated, chopped into pieces, have its head crushed or skin burned off — all under the full protection of Massachusetts law,” the bishop warned.

He continued:

What I found particularly gross was the reaction of the entirely female crowd around the female governor of Massachusetts as she signed this barbaric provision into law. They were clapping and cackling with delight because what can only be called infanticide can now be practiced with impunity in their state.

CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt has written an open letter to the Massachusetts Catholic bishops asking them whether Gov. Healey’s actions incurred her an automatic excommunication under the Church’s canon law.

From its inception, the Catholic Church has taught that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law.”

“Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches.

Whether Gov. Healey’s bishops will take any further action remains unclear. In the meantime, preborn babies in Massachusetts have no legal protections or guarantees for their right to life. That is a great tragedy.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139: 13-15).

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, you can visit My Choice Network.

Related articles and resources:

My Choice Network

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

Become an Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

Overcoming Abortion and Becoming a Force for Life

How You Can Join the Pro-Life Movement

Scriptures Advocating For The Pre-Born

The History of Christianity and Abortion

Massachusetts Removes Abortion Restrictions, Allows Abortion Up to Birth

Massachusetts House Passes Bill Legalizing Abortion Until Birth

Photo from Gov. Healey’s Office.

Breaking: Baby Gabriel Born as Texas Court Issues Order Protecting His Chance at Life

There’s a major update in the case of Alaska surrogate McKenna West and baby Gabriel. Baby Gabriel has just been born as a court in Texas orders that he receive life-sustaining medical care.

As previously reported by the Daily Citizen, McKenna has been fighting to save Gabriel’s life after his biological parents told her to abort him when he was diagnosed with a serious but treatable heart condition that requires surgery after birth.   

McKenna refused to get an abortion. 

Now, she’s in Texas and Attorney General Ken Paxton has stepped in to help her and Gabriel. 

On Monday, August 10th, AG Paxton intervened in the case, filing a 58-page brief, requesting the court to grant life-sustaining medical treatment to Gabriel following his birth. 

Tuesday, August 11th, the court granted the request. 

Baby Gabriel was born on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and has been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit where he will receive life-sustaining heart surgery at a hospital that has a 100% success rate in performing this procedure.

Under the court order, doctors must provide Gabriel with medically necessary stabilizing and life-saving medical care.

The court also decided that Texas law will govern Gabriel’s protection and medical decision-making. Though it was unwilling to allow Texas law to govern his parentage.

The court appointed a guardian ad litem – a neutral person to protect Gabriel’s interests and represent him in ongoing decision making. 

Importantly, the court held that once Gabriel is born, he cannot be removed from the state of Texas, discharged from the hospital or transferred to another medical facility unless for medical necessary care.

The order also addressed what will happen if someone refuses to consent to treatment that doctors believe Gabriel needs. According to the order, if there is a refusal to consent to medically necessary treatment, the court will hold an emergency hearing within two hours of notification and will determine whether they can override the refusal based on the evidence.

Gabriel’s story highlights one of the most serious problems with commercialized surrogacy and IVF — the disconnect between intentionally creating human life and then accepting that child when things don’t go as planned. 

A baby is not a product that can simply be rejected because of an unexpected diagnosis. 

Gabriel’s life has value regardless of his heart condition. He’s a human being with rights and he deserves to be protected. 

The Daily Citizen will continue to follow this developing story. 

Related articles and resources: 

Alaska Surrogate Battles to Keep Baby After Abortion Demand

Perspectives on Surrogate Motherhood

What Does The Bible Say About Surrogacy?

Why Adoption is Beautiful and Surrogacy Isn’t

Massachusetts Removes Abortion Restrictions, Allows Abortion Up to Birth

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed the “Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act,” a radical abortion bill that removed the state’s restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks. State laws allow the killing of an infant in the womb up until birth. 

The Massachusetts Legislature showed its contempt for preborn life as bill H. 5595 was rushed through the legislative process in just nine days, from its introduction on July 22nd to the final vote on July 31st. The measure passed the House by a vote of 121-35 and the Senate by a vote of 15-4.

Governor Healey, who identifies as Catholic and lesbian, posted a video of herself signing the bill – surrounded by smiling women who applauded the death of preborn infants. She wrote, “As long as I’m Governor, abortion will remain safe, legal and accessible in Massachusetts.” 

Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), a Focus on the Family ally, responded with the truth: “Abortion is never safe for the innocent child whose life is being taken!” 

The Catholic Church vehemently opposes the abortion of preborn infants, as many on social media pointed out to the governor.

The church has called abortion a sin from its very beginnings, and Catholic teaching explains the right to life is fundamental and inalienable, calling abortion “a grave moral disorder.” Abortion is a “crime against human life” that merits “the canonical penalty of excommunication.”

Healy also dropped the term many abortion advocates used to espouse, the claim that they desired to make abortion “rare.” 

H. 5595 removed previous state restrictions, including one that required abortions after 24 weeks to only be performed by a physician. It eliminated legal restrictions that allowed third trimester abortions only “if in the best medical judgement of the physician it is”: 

1. Necessary to preserve the life of the patient. 

2. Necessary to preserve the patient’s physical or mental health. 

3. Warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis. 

4. Warranted because of a grave fetal diagnosis that indicates that the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions.

In abortion laws, phrases like “necessary to preserve the life of the patient” and “necessary to preserve the patient’s physical or mental health” already provide loopholes for women to abort her child past 24 weeks. 

MFI explained more of the legal requirements the Act removed from state law: 

The bill also eliminates the Department of Public Health’s oversight of the policies and protocols that medical facilities use that handle late-term abortions. This removes an important layer of accountability for how a facility conducts a procedure at a stage when a baby is fully viable.
In addition, current law requires late-term abortions to be performed in a hospital — recognition that a procedure this serious, at this stage of pregnancy, demands a hospital’s resources and safeguards. This bill eliminates that requirement. A late-term abortion could legally be performed anywhere a provider chooses, with none of the protections a hospital setting is meant to guarantee.

According to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Massachusetts is now the 12th state with no gestational restrictions on abortion. In addition, 18 states that permit abortion have such broad “health exceptions” that they have virtually no limits on abortion. 

In a post on X, the organization called the legislation “barbaric.” 

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, many Christians thought the issue was settled: Abortion was no longer a “constitutional right.” 

But Dobbs merely turned the issue back to the states and Congress – with legislators and voters deciding the issue. And groups like Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom for All have spent millions to pass laws keeping the abortion of infants legal – even up to the point of birth. 

We are still engaged in the battle for life. It’s vital that all Christians advocate for life in both culture and policy, support campaigns to restrict abortion, pray for an end to abortion, and support pregnancy resource centers and women who choose life. 

Related articles and resources: 

Become an Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

How You Can Join the Pro-Life Movement

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Massachusetts House Passes Bill Legalizing Abortion Until Birth

My Choice Network

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

Overcoming Abortion and Becoming a Force for Life

Alaska Surrogate Battles to Keep Baby After Abortion Demand

What happens when a surrogate refuses to abort the baby she’s carrying? 

This week, Live Action News released an exclusive interview that shines light on a significant moral dilemma surrounding surrogacy: What happens when motherhood is commercialized, and babies are treated like property that can be discarded through a contract?

Surrogate Backstory

According to Live Action News, McKenna West, an Alaskan nurse and single mom, agreed to become a surrogate for a couple from California to help them experience the gift of a child.

Everything seemed to be going well until the 20-week ultrasound, when doctors diagnosed the baby boy, whom McKenna calls Gabriel, with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital heart defect. The diagnosis is life-threatening and requires multiple surgeries between birth and three years of age, but it is treatable. 

According to McKenna and court filings obtained by Live Action News, the couple told her to get an abortion, per the surrogate contract. She refused, and the couple filed a lawsuit against her.

According to court documents, no doctor in Alaska would perform an abortion at 22 weeks, which would have entailed dismembering the baby’s body. 

McKenna says a podcaster friend got in touch with Lila Rose of Live Action, and Lila agreed to help McKenna and her children get to Texas, where heart specialists could save baby Gabriel’s life.

The California couple stopped sending money to McKenna because she refused to abort the baby. They’re now demanding that their money be returned and are seeking additional monetary damages. 

Current Situation

McKenna is now 36 weeks pregnant and in Texas. Gabriel is due September 2, 2026.

In a lawsuit, the California couple is demanding that McKenna travel to California to deliver the baby, where it is unclear if they will provide the medical care that he needs or leave him to die after birth.

McKenna says she is willing to travel to California to deliver Gabriel, but only if they guarantee he will be given the medical assistance he needs to live. According to Live Action News, the California couple has not agreed to this condition.

McKenna has filed for custody of Gabriel so she can authorize doctors to perform life-saving heart surgery after he is born.

Couples seeking surrogates almost always choose to work with gestational surrogates who are not genetically related to the baby, rather than traditional surrogates, to increase their chances of retaining legal authority over the child. 

The legal proceedings are ongoing in Alaska and in California. It’s possible a court in California could determine where McKenna gives birth and what medical team provides care to Gabriel. 

McKenna is being represented by Lincoln Wilson, a former Alliance Defending Freedom attorney who is now a partner at First & Fourteenth PLLC. 

Bigger Picture

Advocates of surrogacy have mostly considered the practice as an act of generosity that helps families have children. There are likely many people who have entered into these agreements with compassionate and sincere intentions to do good. But commercial surrogacy raises significant moral questions that must be addressed. 

What happens when a baby has a disability?

What happens when a baby doesn’t meet the expectations of adults?

What happens when adults disagree about whether the child should have the opportunity to live?

Should a woman be forced to get an abortion?

These might sound like hypothetical questions, but they aren’t for McKenna and baby Gabriel.

For those of us who believe that every human life has inherent dignity and worth, regardless of a diagnosis or disability, this case is a sober reminder of what’s really at stake with IVF and surrogacy. 

It is also a reminder that while contracts might establish legal rights, or attempt to treat children as property, they cannot erase the humanity of a baby. 

The consequences of commercial surrogacy and IVF can literally mean life or death for preborn babies. 

It’s time for all Americans of good will to think clearly and carefully about the negative impacts of commercial surrogacy and IVF. Babies are not products. Parenthood isn’t just a contractual relationship. And the value of human life should never depend on age, location, ability, or dependency. 

The Daily Citizen will continue to follow this developing story.

Related articles and resources:

Perspectives on Surrogate Motherhood

What Does The Bible Say About Surrogacy?

Photo from Live Action.

DOJ Settles With Pro-Life Activist Paul Vaughn Over Unjust Prosecution

Pro-life activist Paul Vaughn reached a seven-figure settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over his unjust arrest and prosecution.

Multiple heavily armed FBI agents arrested Vaughn at the family’s Tennessee farmhouse on October 5, 2022. The agents took Vaughn away in front of his wife and their seven children, including their 18-month-old.

The DOJ charged the Christian father and 10 others with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for peacefully protesting at an abortion clinic in Nashville, where they prayed and sang worship songs. Seven of the protesters were also charged with “conspiracy against rights.”

Vaughn faced up to 11 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to three years supervised release.

The Biden administration’s jihad against pro-life supporters shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ “strongly disagree[d]” with the Court’s decision, calling it a “devastating blow to reproductive freedom.”

“The Justice Department will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” Garland said, citing the FACE Act as a tool to “protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services.”

After Garland’s speech, the DOJ brought 24 FACE Act cases against 55 defendants, 22 of which were brought against peaceful pro-life supporters.

The Biden DOJ essentially ignored the 400 violent attacks on pregnancy resource centers and churches despite the fact the FACE Act also makes it illegal to interfere with people seeking to exercise religious freedom at their places of worship.

Thankfully, President Donald J. Trump pardoned Vaughn and 22 other peaceful pro-life protesters on January 23, 2025, the day before the national March for Life.

“Twenty-three people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted,” the president remarked at the time. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”

Vaughn, now father of 11 children, brought legal action against the DOJ for his unjust arrest and prosecution; he was pardoned while his case was on appeal. Now, a settlement has been reached with the Trump DOJ.

According to the Thomas More Society, which represents Vaughn, the settlement represents an admission that “the Biden DOJ’s and FBI’s actions were an abuse of government powers.”

“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.

“I am grateful to the members of this Department of Justice who were willing to look honestly at what the prior administration did to our family and so many others and attempt to make it right.”

Vaughn added,

I am grateful to President Trump for the pardon that restored my good name, Thomas More Society for their tireless defense, and the countless people who stood with us in prayer.
This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.

Vaughn’s story serves as a reminder that elections have consequences, and that doing what is right isn’t always easy. It may well involve trials and persecutions – even in the United States of America.

We should all be grateful for Vaughn’s courageous pro-life witness and be just as willing to accept difficulties and trials in our continued fight for life.

Related articles and resources:

House Advances Bill to Repeal Law Weaponized Against Pro-Lifers

President Trump Pardons 23 Peaceful Pro-Life Protesters

Six Pro-Life Supporters Found Guilty, Face 11 Years in Prison for Peaceful Abortion Clinic Protest

Photo from Thomas More Society.