"Always put justice above the law, and when the law is unjust change it directly." William Penn.

"Those who make abortions possible by law â?" such as legislators and those who promote, defend and elect these same legislators â?" cannot separate themselves totally from that guilt which accompanies this horrendous crime." Humberto Cardinal Medeiros, 1980.

"Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes." Vatican II - "The Church in the Modern World" - Paragraph 51.

"It is a great poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

"Abortion is a crime that kills not only the child, but the consciences of all involved." Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

"Those who hold the reins of government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority by appropriate laws and sanctions to defend the lives of the innocent, and this all the more so since those whose lives are endangered and assailed cannot defend themselves, among whom we must mention in the first place - infants hidden in the mother's womb. And if the public magistrates not only do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors or of others, let them remember that God is The Judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cries from earth to Heaven." Encyclical "Casti Connubi" (On Christian Marriage) issued by - Pope Pius XI.

"Life is a mystery to be lived rather than a problem to be solved." Gabriel Marcel.

"I believe, that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos." Saint Thomas More.

"A person who actually procures an abortion incurs a "latae sententiae" excommunication. "Latae sententiae" includes (according to Canon f329, Paragraph 2) accomplices, even though not mentioned in the law or precept, incur the same penalty if, without their assistance the crime would not have been committed." The New Code of Canon Law, Canon 1398.

"How can we respect the lives of the elderly, the handicapped and the poor, how can we draw back in horror from the prospect of nuclear destruction, while we continue to destroy human life before it emerges from the mother's womb." Catholic Bishops of N.Y. State, 1984

"It must, in any case, be clearly understood that a Christian can never conform to a law which is in itself immoral. And such is the case of a law which would admit in principle the liceity of abortion. Nor can a Christian take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it. Moreover, he may not collaborate in it's application." "The Declaration on Procured Abortion" issued by Pope Paul VI in 1974

"I would like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly.

If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord." Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life (No. 99)

"The meaning of life is to be found in giving and receiving love, and in this light, human sexuality and procreation reach their true and full significance. Love always gives meaning to suffering and death ........ they can become saving events." Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life

"As believers how can we fail to see that abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are a terrible rejection of God's gift of life and love? And as believers, how can we fail to see the duty to surround the sick and those in distress with the warmth of our affection and support that will help them always to embrace life." Pope John Paul II, Homily at Saint Louis, Missouri, January 27, 1999

"The choice in favor of life is not a private option but a basic demand of a just and moral society." "There must be a thorough catechesis on the Gospel of Life at all levels of the Catholic community ....... The call to conversion must ring out in your homes, in your parishes and in your schools, with complete confidence that the Church's teaching about the inviolability of life is deeply in tune with both right reason and the deepest longings of the human heart." Message from Pope John Paul II to Cardinal Keeler on March 3, 1999

"Today the world has become the arena of the battle for life. The struggle between the civilization of life and the civilization of death continues. A civilization which rejected the defenseless would deserve to be called a barbarian civilization, even though it had great successes in the field of economics, technology, art and science. A nation which kills its own children is a nation without a future." Homily of Pope John Paul II at Kalisz, Poland on June 4, 1997

"We urge our fellow citizens to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, unemployment, education, housing, health care. ...... But being â?~ right' on such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"The inherent value of every human life, at every stage and in every circumstance, is not a sectarian issue any more than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian creed." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"Catholic public officials who disregard Church teaching on the inviolability of the human person indirectly collude in the taking of innocent human life." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"No public official, especially on claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on i nnocent human life." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"The Gospel of Life must be proclaimed, and human life defended, in all places and all times. The arena for moral responsibility includes not only the halls of government, but the voting booth as well. Laws that permit abortion and euthanasia and assisted suicide are profoundly unjust, and we should work peacefully and tirelessly to oppose and change them." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"As Americans, as Catholics and as pastors of our people, we [bishops] ..... call our fellow citizens back to our country's founding principles, and most especially to renew our national respect for the rights of those who are unborn, weak, disabled and terminally ill. Real freedom rests on the inviolability of every person as a child of God." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"As we tinker with the beginning, the end and even the intimate cell structure of life, we tinker with our own identity as a free nation dedicated to the dignity of the human person. When American political life becomes an experiment on people rather than for and by them, it will be no longer worth conducting. We are arguably moving closer to that day." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"At the center of the moral vision of the American founding documents is the recognition of the rights of the human person ........... The greatness of the United States lies especially in its respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all conditions and at all stages of development." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"Virtual reality and genetic science may give us the illusion of power; but we are not gods. We are not our own or anyone else's creator. Nor, for our own safety, should we ever seek to be. Even parents entrusted with the special guardianship over new life do not "own" their children any more than one adult can own another. And therein lies our own security." NCCB, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

"Procreative techniques which turn embryos into objects and mechanically substitute the loving embrace of husband and wife violate human dignity and treat life as a product. No matter how positive their intentions, these techniques advance the dangerous tendency to reduce human life to mere material which can be manipulated." Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, On Human Life

"Often when it pertains to anything concerning abortion, people are afraid of allowing women to experience "hurt" and the truth is sacrificed to a sense of false mercy. There can be no true mercy without justice, and no justice without the truth. I don't know why my soul fled the truth for so long. But finally, through Project Rachel, my soul was set free and allowed to go to its Creator. I will be forever grateful for the gift of this ministry." Anonymous

"I had been going through years of unhealed emotional and spiritual wounds as well as grief because to my past abortions. Even when I denied that I had such problems, the pain and heartache of these past sins remained. Then one ..... Sunday ...... the first thing I saw in the bulletin was the Project Rachel number. I can't find the words to describe how wonderful this experience was. I was helped to shed all the denial, anger, lies, stubbornness and tears that were in my heart. To tell you I sinned is one thing â?" but I grieved my God and I was so sure He had turned His back on me! How wrong I was! Through this care, the walls came down and in their places stood compassion, forgiveness, grace, faith and love. Thank you for Project Rachel for it has surely blessed me and changed my life!" Anonymous

The National Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. is a shiny black wall that stretches 492 feet and lists the names of the 58,022 known Americans killed in that war. If such a wall listed the names of the children killed by abortion since 1973, the wall would be about 60 miles long! The casualties of all our wars put together are fewer than the casualties from abortion in a single year. Vietnam Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Religious Life Magazine: December 1999)

"All those in favor of abortion have already been born." President Ronald Reagan