Below
is an open letter from Bishop Gray III regarding his opposition to
Proposition 26, a proposed amendment to The Constitution of the State of
Mississippi, which will appear on the ballot of the November 8, 2011
General Election.
My dear friends,
My deep reservations about abortion and the death penalty grow out
of my abiding belief in the sanctity of human life and the arbitrary
nature of these actions. I am not, however, a pacifist in regards to
war. I do believe that some very serious moral decisions are not simply
choices between good and evil, but rather in the case of two evils,
choices between the lesser of two evils. Such is the complexity of human
moral decision-making in a fallen world.
I appreciate the intentions of those who have supported Proposition
26, what has been called the Personhood Amendment. I share their passion
for the sanctity of human life. However, I am gravely concerned about
the unintended consequences of this legislation. The moral nightmares of
doctors no longer able to give preference to saving the life of the
mother in such cases as an ectopic pregnancy and the uncertain impact on
in-vitro fertilization are real. Thus, the Board of Trustees of the
Mississippi Medical Association has announced that it cannot support
this legislation.
The legal nightmares arising from this legislation are also very
real. The word “person” is used over 9,400 times in the Mississippi
Annotated Code and the implications for mass confusion and decades of
legal challenges over every use of the term are staggering.
For their own reasons, Roman Catholic bishops in several states,
including Mississippi, have said they could not support this particular
legislation.
While I recognize the complexities of such moral decisions and the
need for each of us to make our own informed and prayerful choices, you
need to know that I share the aforementioned concerns about the
unintended consequences of this legislation. Thus, I cannot support
Proposition 26 on the November 8th ballot in Mississippi.
Please feel free to share this letter with whomever you wish.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III
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