WASHINGTON (October 9, 1997) -- Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, has urged President Clinton to sign the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law. Bishop Pilla wrote to the President on October 8, the day the House voted overwhelmingly to accept Senate amendments to the legislation and to send it to the President for his signature.

"The Catholic Bishops of the United States, and many religious leaders of other faiths, have spoken out against partial-birth abortion as an attack on our most helpless brothers and sisters in the process of being born," Bishop Pilla said. "Partial-birth abortion transcends the accustomed bounds of the abortion debate and is more accurately seen as a form of infanticide."

"On behalf of the nation's Catholic bishops, I urge you to sign this legislation to help stop one violent form of child abuse," Bishop Pilla wrote. "The killing of partly-born children has no place in our society. You are in a unique position to put a stop to it."

Text of Bishop Pilla's Letter.

For media inquiries, e-mail us at commdept@usccb.org
Department of Communications | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.