Reacting to the US Supreme Court decision on abortion, Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, emphasized that “Pope Francis has spoken out strongly and unequivocally” against abortion.

Tornielli’s editorial (“For Life, Always”) followed an earlier statement by the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The ruling, said Tornielli, “could provide an opportunity to reflect on life, the protection of the defenseless and the discarded, women’s rights, and the protection of motherhood.”

“A serious and shared reflection on life and the protection of motherhood would require us to move away from the logic of opposing extremisms and the political polarization that often—unfortunately—accompanies discussion on this issue, preventing true dialogue,” he added.

“Being for life, always, for example, means being concerned if the mortality rates of women due to motherhood increase,” he continued, citing the increase in maternal mortality in the US between 2019 and 2020. (Tornielli did not mention that the increase was linked to Covid.)

“Being for life, always, means asking how to help women welcome new life,” he added. “In the United States, about 75% of women who have abortions live in poverty or have low wages. And only 16% of employees in private industry have access to paid parental leave … Being for life, always, also means defending it against the threat of firearms.”

“We can hope, therefore, that the debate on the US Supreme Court ruling will not be reduced to an ideological confrontation, but will prompt all of us—on both sides of the ocean—to reflect on what it means to welcome life, to defend it, and to promote it with appropriate legislation,” Tornielli concluded.