Fundamental Right to Abortion? - part I of II

by Fr. Don Kline, V.F.  |  01/18/2026  |  Letter from the Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On November 5, 2024, Arizona Proposition 139, the Right to Abortion Initiative, was on the ballot in Arizona as a constitutional amendment. The ballot measure was approved by the voters. As a result, the state constitution was amended to provide for the "fundamental right" to abortion, among other provisions. This measure amended the Arizona Constitution and established that every individual has the "fundamental right" to abortion.

As a result of the approved measure, the state of Arizona may not interfere with those seeking to have an abortion before the point of fetal viability. Fetal viability is defined in the measure as the point of pregnancy when there is a significant chance of the survival of the fetus outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures. It provides for the right to an abortion after fetal viability if it is done to protect the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant individual, and is based on thejudgment of a treating health care professional. The measure also prohibits laws that penalize individuals for aiding or assisting a person exercising the right to an abortion. To be clear, this amendment establishes the "fundamental right" to abortion.

Cindy Dahlgren, spokeswoman for It Goes Too Far said: "Unfortunately, most voters are not told that under this unregulated, unlimited abortion amendment they will lose the required medical doctor, critical and commonsense safety standards for girls and women seeking abortion, and moms and dads will be shut out of their minor daughter's abortion decision, leaving her to go through the painful and scary process alone."

Arizona Catholic Conference Bishops: "If passed, this initiative threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona.What makes a constitutional amendment especially grave is that our own Arizona legislators could lose the ability to regulate abortion in any meaningful way, leaving us with the potential for what would likely become nearly unrestricted abortion. Arizona law currently allows for abortions up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. Proposition 139, however, would go far beyond even this current law. The proposed amendment, among other things, would likely remove most safeguards for girls and women that are currently in place at abortion clinics, permit a minor to obtain an abortion without parental involvement or permission, and allow for painful late-term abortions of viable pre-born children."

As Catholics we celebrate the Right to Life. We are Pro Life. Our Lord reminds us of the sacredness of every human life... born and unborn. Catholics have always held and will always preach the value of human life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that:

"Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being" (CCC 2258). And "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life" (CCC 2270).

As we read in Psalm 139:
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you... My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

Because Our Loving God has created every human being, we are sacred and precious - made in God's image and likeness. Every human being, born or unborn, is a reflection of God. As reflections of God, we have been entrusted from the moment of conception until our natural death with a unique mission and vocation in life that is life-giving. What is that mission? We are invited to bring others to this life-giving understanding ofthe love of God for each and every person.

On October 7, 1979, in his homily on the Capitol Mall, only six years after Roe vs Wade, Pope John Paul IItold America what the Church would do in response to the legalization of abortion in our country. Read again his words:

"...we will stand up every time that human life is threatened. When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, we will stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life. When a child is described as a burden or is looked upon only as a means to satisfy an emotional need, we will stand up and insist that every child is a unique and unrepeatable gift of God, with the right to a loving and united family. When the institution of marriage is abandoned to human selfishness or reduced to a temporary, conditional arrangement that can easily be terminated, we will stand up..."

To be continued...

God Bless,

Fr. Donald J. Klin