Time to Act

New Jersey State Council
Religious and Civil Rights (R & C)
Talking Points for Councils
September 2021

Worthy Grand Knights, Worthy Religious & Civil Rights Committee Chairmen, and Brothers all:
This month’s talking and informational points for discussion and prayer focus on the Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848) and were based upon a New Jersey Catholic Conference document. Even though our state already has some of the most permissive abortion laws in the nation, the Reproductive Freedom Act would:

 Guarantee every individual, regardless of residency, the fundamental right to reproductive
autonomy including the rights to abortion and contraception.
 Enable all qualified healthcare professionals to provide abortion services including non-physicians such as advanced practice nurses or physician assistants, and certified mid-wives.
 Repeal current state laws and regulations that limit access to abortion services, including parental notification and partial birth abortion ban laws. It would allow for abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
 Invalidate and prohibit the future adoption of all laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, resolutions, policies, standards or parts thereof that conflict with the provisions or the express or implied intent of this act.
 Establish that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus (all terms for early human life) does not have
independent rights under the laws of this state.
 Require that the state legislature allocate funding for abortion services and contraceptives in the annual state budget.
 Eliminate the requirement for an autopsy to be conducted in a case where a fetal death occurs
without medical attendance and potentially opens the doors to infanticide.
 Eliminate New Jersey’s long standing conscience protection clause which protects the rights of
healthcare workers to refuse to perform or assist in abortion because doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
The Catholic Bishops of New Jersey urge all Catholics and people of goodwill to reject this proposed legislative initiative in our state and to contact your State legislators to vigorously express opposition to its passage. Please do so as soon as possible as this legislation may be enacted rather quickly.

Fraternally,
Dan Rossi
Dan Rossi, PSD, SD
R&C Committee Chairman