Michigan Catholic Bishop David Walkowiak called out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week for her deceptive claim about abortions being “life-sustaining.”
“Two persons enter an abortion clinic. Only one comes out,” said Walkowiak, the bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, in a statement. “Abortion is not life-sustaining.”
His comments join growing criticisms of the pro-abortion Democrat governor’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. Whitmer’s restrictions are among the strictest of all state executive orders, and Michiganders have protested in large numbers in recent days.
Her executive order 2020-42 restricts businesses, the sales of seeds, boating, travel to vacation homes and more. Whitmer also restricted non-essential medical care to preserve supplies for those who need them most and prevent further spread of the virus. But she specifically exempted elective abortions from her mandate.
Defending the decision earlier this month, Whitmer told Axe Files that abortions are “life sustaining.”
“A woman’s healthcare, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life,” Whitmer said. “It is life sustaining and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of. ”
This week, Walkowkiak joined the Michigan Catholic Conference in refuting the governor’s claims. He said the Catholic Church supports mothers and children in need, and abortions are never necessary.
“Well over 150,000 low-income mothers deliver their babies at Catholic hospitals each year, and tens of thousands of pregnant and parenting moms are helped each year through Catholic Charities programs and other agencies,” the bishop said. “We will continue to walk with moms in need.”
Walkowiak urged Michiganders to continue working hard to protect every human being, both in and outside the womb.
“We must let our elected representatives know our opinions on this matter and do all that we can to explain to them why the Church teaches about the sanctity of life as she does,” he said. “Let us never back down from our vigorous defense of human life at all stages of its existence.”
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Earlier this month, the Michigan Catholic Conference also slammed the governor for declaring elective abortions “life sustaining” while restricting people from buying seeds to grow their own food.
“How can Governor Whitmer on the one hand prohibit medical surgeries and the growth of food through gardening yet refer to a procedure that intentionally destroys a developing human person as ‘life sustaining?’” the Michigan Catholic Conference responded in a statement.
The conference called out her double-speak, saying, “The logic is removed from reality: night is not day; war is not peace.”
Though Whitmer’s statement is outrageous and illogical, the bishops said they were not surprised by it. They referred to her long political history of supporting the killing of unborn babies for any reason up to birth.
A tweet recently surfaced of Whitmer donning a pink Planned Parenthood hat in 2018 that mocked President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Whitmer is shown in a pink T-shirt and matching ball cap with white words emblazoned across it that read, “Planned Parenthood Makes America Great.” She captioned her selfie with, “The future is bright…. and pink!”
“Her comments indicate how easily candidates for higher office are pushed into a dark corner by the abortion industry. Joe Biden’s abdication of his forty-year support for the Hyde Amendment no doubt paved the way,” the bishops said, noting the political influence of the billion-dollar abortion industry.
The Catholic leaders urged the governor to stop and think about “the wounds her comments have created for countless people in this state and elsewhere.”
Tens of thousands of people in Michigan lost their jobs because of Whitmer’s restrictions, and now they cannot even buy seeds to plant gardens to feed their families. Individuals are not allowed to use their own motor boats and vacation homes to social distance either.
Meanwhile, Michigan abortion facilities continue business as usual. Right now, they are not just destroying unborn babies’ lives but also putting women and staff at greater risk of contracting the virus while using up personal protective equipment and other medical supplies needed by hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.
