LAWRENCE, KANSAS - As the mission of the Catholic Church to the University of Kansas, the St. Lawrence Center (henceforth SLC) embraces the opportunity to respond to the recent Supreme Court decision in the matter of Dobbs vs. Jackson Co. Women's Health, a decision that has the attention of the KU community. So too does the upcoming proposed Constitutional Amendment on the ballot on August 2nd in Kansas that would allow restrictions to abortion that are currently deemed unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court per the Nauser & Hodes vs. State of Kansas ruling in 2019.
SLC recognizes that many at KU are upset by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling. Some Jayhawks perceive the overturning of Roe v. Wade as detrimental to women's rights to privacy, autonomy and equality. Not only this, but many in the KU community have been personally involved with or affected by abortion. SLC seeks mutual respect, conversation, reconciliation and relationship with all at KU, including those who disagree with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in this case.
At the same time, St. Lawrence invites recognition that there are many others in the KU community who see the court's recent decision as a just and necessary one if there is to be a meaningful chance to build a just society founded on the right to life for every human person without exception. In fact, there are numerous Jayhawks who have worked many years with the hope of seeing the ruling just rendered. Roe vs. Wade is considered by many Jayhawks to be an unjust and unconstitutional ruling that has contributed to the greatest holocaust of human life in American history.
SLC furthermore invites respect for members of the KU community who have pro-life convictions that rely not merely or primarily on faith, but on right reason and good conscience, convictions founded on the following principles:
That a unique and unrepeatable human life exists from the very moment of conception, a fact verified by the most vigorous sciences.
That the decision to relativize the value of any human life for any reason historically leads to the most monstrous of human holocausts.
That any sincere effort to care for children must begin with not killing them.
That a society which fails to grant the right to life to each of its persons should not pretend to justly deliver the rights that proceed from the right to life to any.
That a society shows its strength by extending its best protection and care to its weakest and most vulnerable persons, especially its children.
That the ability to see ourselves in our children, and to prioritize their rights over the will of adults is critical to a nation with a hopeful future.
That the right to life for all must entail the responsibility of all to never kill an innocent person for any reason.
SLC admits that one of the most serious responsibilities a state can require is for women to carry children to term, especially in the worst of circumstances. Such a responsibility, though necessary for the common good, must be supported by the best resources that can be made available by the state and its people, with exceptions granted when the life of the mother is gravely at risk.
This responsibility to always choose life must fall not only to pregnant women but to each of us in this decisive moment. Each of us must ask ourselves - what more must I do to give life rather than to take it? This is a question of special meaning for Jayhawks. KU takes its mascot from those ferocious fighters in Civil War times who risked their very lives so that Kansas came into the union as a free state, one where no person is owned, controlled or discarded.
Giving life rather than taking it means participating as much as I can in building a chaste society whose virtue is shown in granting more children the dignity of being conceived in relationships where there is commitment, care and support. It means knowing that the right to life for all can only be extended if I am responsible for living an unselfish life that gives more than it takes. That's how Jayhawks build a culture of life where abortion is never the best option.
SLC envisions our free state not as an abortion destination for the Midwest, but as a generous society where every Jayhawk embraces the responsibility to give life to others. To this end, we encourage all Kansans of right mind and generous heart to vote YES on the upcoming Constitutional Amendment on the ballot on August 2nd, a vote that will keep alive the hope of our state remaining free to be a place where no person is owned, controlled or discarded. To the stars through difficulties, Jayhawks!
The Catholic faith has always shown light into the responsibility of all to choose life, and will always deepen and strengthen the commitment to do so. SLC is honored to bring this faith to bear on the KU educational experience. Yet once again, the convictions herein shared do not in any way depend on religious faith but can be embraced by anyone who wants to expand human dignity and rights for all.
With a commitment to partnering with KU to lift students and society by educating leaders, and with an equal commitment to making amends and asking for forgiveness for any and all ways our Church has violated these same principles and harmed life rather than serving it, still SLC appreciates any and all persons of good will who receive these remarks on their own merit.