Expansive abortion rights bill passes in NJ amid strong opposition from Catholic community

From Staff Reports

The legislative push to enshrine and expand abortion rights in New Jersey, which moved with extraordinary speed out of committees Jan. 6, passed in the State Legislature Jan. 10 by wide margins. The Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, S49/A6260, was passed by the State Senate 23-15 and by the General Assembly 46-22 with 8 abstentions.  It will now advance to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk, where it would be signed into law.

Despite the brief run-up to the vote in the Legislature, S49/A6260 drew vehement opposition from a substantial cross-section of the electorate, including the New Jersey Catholic Bishops, who issued a joint statement Jan. 7.  A quickly mobilized effort to alert Catholic voters, led by the New Jersey Catholic Conference, prompted announcements in churches Jan. 8 and 9, urging parishioners to ask their legislators to vote “no” when S49/A6260 reached the full Senate and General Assembly.  Some 11,000 messages to legislators were submitted through the NJCC website in the brief few days since news of the pending vote was confirmed.

Upon learning of the passage, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., sent a message to Gov. Murphy asking him not to sign the bill.  He also wrote to the Diocese’s pastors, stating, “Despite the valiant efforts of 11,000 NJ Catholics to convince them otherwise, the NJ Senate and General Assembly passed its “Reproductive Freedom Act” / Abortion Bill.”

The newly-passed legislation effectively serves as a replacement to the Reproductive Freedom Act, a controversial bill introduced in October 2020 that would have expanded abortion services in New Jersey to include late-term abortions, state-funding for abortions, mandating health insurance coverage for abortion services, and allowing for non-physician medical providers to perform abortions, all of which the NJCC vigorously opposed on behalf of the New Jersey Catholic bishops.

While some changes were made from the original legislation, James J. King, executive director of the NJCC, emphasized that S49/A6260 “differs little from the RFA and includes provisions that remove all barriers to abortion services.”

King also expressed concern about the haste in which S49/A6260 has advanced through the legislative process. “With only five days between the bill’s introduction on January 6, 2022, and scheduled vote on January 10, 2022 - - the last voting day of the current session — we were left with little time to offer our input and feedback.”

More to come on this breaking story.