With about a month before election day, the Catholic Church has kicked off “Respect Life Month”, the annual program to advocate against abortion. This month, Catholic church leaders hope to accelerate the campaign against Proposition 1.
According to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, about 70% of registered voters are prepared to support Prop1.
But with nearly one in three Californians being Catholic, church leaders have access to a huge platform to influence public opinion on abortion rights. The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone wrote, “The California bishops have made defeating Prop 1 our number one priority for this year”.
The “No” campaign, claims the measure will allow late-term abortion. But Yes on Prop 1 spokesperson Molly Weedn told Bay City News, "The initiative is simply going to take existing law and add it to the constitution."
But Catholics appear to be split on the matter.
A national survey by Pew Research Center in May, found that a majority of Catholics agree that the procedure should be legal in most or all cases. But more than two-thirds of regular Mass attendees believe it should be illegal in most or all cases.
