Catholic bishops across four states are asking for prayers as they continue to rally the faithful ahead of ballot initiative votes that would reshape abortion policies in their states.
“Tell your readership how important it is to be praying for the dioceses that are facing this, what I would describe as a very diabolical initiative,” Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas told EWTN News.
On Nov. 3, the public in three states will vote on referendums to establish a “right” to abortion: Nevada, Virginia, and Idaho. In Missouri, people will vote on a pro-life referendum that would repeal the state’s constitutional right to abortion.
Bishops in each state have advocated against abortion for months. In many cases, this includes statements on the referendums, flyers, and prayer cards at parishes, and asking priests to teach congregations about the sanctity of life. In some cases, it extends to calls for fasting and efforts to register voters and get them to the polls.
American bishops do not endorse political candidates. Yet, bishops have advocated for or against specific ballot initiatives when Church teachings, such as the sanctity of life, are implicated.
Nevada bishops wage ‘uphill battle’
The bishops in Nevada are waging what Thomas called “an uphill battle” to defeat a referendum to establish “a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution.
In Nevada, amendments need a majority vote via referendum in two consecutive elections. In the last statewide election in 2024, the referendum won support from 64% of voters. Another majority this year would complete the process.
Thomas said he and Diocese of Reno Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg have worked closely to align their messaging and strategy to defeat the amendment. This includes printed material offered to parishes, created by the Nevada Catholic Conference, and a planned full-page advertisement for newspapers in Las Vegas and Reno.
Both bishops wrote pastoral letters labeling the referendum dangerous. Thomas instructed priests in his archdiocese to read it aloud at Mass for Respect Life Sunday on Oct. 4.
“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” he wrote in the letter, available in both English and Spanish. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Thomas said every priest is obligated to “very clearly and lucidly teach Catholic social and moral teaching in his community,” noting each life is created in the image of God “from conception until natural death.”
Although the referendum allows the state to restrict abortion access after fetal viability, which is the point at which a child can survive outside the womb, the proposal’s definition says this is determined by the “treating health care practitioner,” who is often the abortion doctor. It states abortion access extends through the ninth month of pregnancy if needed to “protect the life or health” of the mother, but the measure does not separately define “health.”
Current Nevada law prohibits abortion 26 weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period. The archbishop said the referendum extends abortion rights through “potentially the ninth month of pregnancy,” though courts have not ruled on that interpretation.
The referendum would extend abortion access to “all individuals,” which Thomas argued would eliminate parental notification laws for minors who seek abortion. The referendum permits abortion by “a qualified health care practitioner” and does not specify a “physician.”
“It’s another very serious and damaging expansion of an already liberal law,” the archbishop said.
Virginia bishops push voter registration
The two dioceses in Virginia — Arlington and Richmond — are battling a similar referendum to enshrine “a fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion care,” in their state constitution, which would be adopted with a majority vote.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond penned a letter instructing Catholics of their “sacred duty to form our consciences prayerfully and correctly, and to vote NO” on the abortion referendum and a separate referendum that would enshrine same-sex marriage in the constitution, which was read aloud at parishes throughout the commonwealth.
Burbidge called Catholics to pray and fast ahead of the vote, and his diocese is operating the Catholics Vote No campaign and encouraging the diocesan faithful to sign on to a pledge to vote no on both referendums.
Amy McInerny, director of Respect Life at the Diocese of Arlington’s Office of Marriage, Family, and Respect Life, told EWTN News: “Some demons are only driven out by prayer and fasting,” citing Christ’s words in Matthew 17.
The dioceses, working through the Virginia Catholic Conference, published prayer cards for “protection from the extreme abortion amendment” and “an end to the grave evil of abortion” for parishes. They provided parishes with flyers about the referendum and abortion laws in the state, along with a flyer containing voter registration information.
“These two ballot questions are moral issues,” McInerny said.
Some parishes are actively registering Catholics to vote and holding voter registration drives. McInerny said there’s a strong effort to “turn out the vote,” and the Arlington Diocese encourages parishes to “check in with their homebound and those who are in nursing homes” and college students “who might need help to get absentee ballots.”
The referendum would allow some abortion restrictions in the third trimester, but not if abortion is necessary to protect “the life or physical or mental health.” It does not define this standard, leaving it to the discretion of the physician, who is often the abortion doctor. The legal right to abortion is extended to “every individual” and not just adults.
McInerny said the language essentially allows abortion “even for healthy babies, up until birth,” though courts have not ruled on that interpretation, and “will include minor girls,” which jeopardizes parental consent laws. She said it would create “a safe space for groomers and predators and traffickers who want to prey on our girls.”
Virginia law allows abortion access through the 26th week of pregnancy.
Idaho’s ‘most important issue’ until November
Diocese of Boise Bishop Peter Christensen is actively engaging with parish priests to ensure pro-life messaging is heard regularly at Mass throughout his diocese, which covers the entire state, ahead of its vote on an abortion referendum.
Unlike Virginia and Nevada, the referendum in Idaho would change state law rather than amend the constitution. It would supersede the current state law, which prohibits most abortion access, and create a right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion.”
“This is the most important issue for all of us until November,” Christian Welp, director of diocesan projects, told EWTN News.
Welp said the diocese provided a package to every priest offering guidelines on pro-life messaging in homilies and prayer intentions ahead of the vote. It includes prayer cards, which priests are asked to read at every daily and Sunday Mass. The bishop also wrote a letter, which was read aloud at Mass throughout the diocese.
“By coming together as a family in prayer, raising awareness, and taking meaningful action, we can make a powerful difference in responding to this anti-life, anti-family initiative by advocating for the protection of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Christensen wrote.
The referendum would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at the point of fetal viability, which is determined by the physician, who is often the abortion doctor, but cannot restrict late-term abortion if there is a medical emergency. It would also extend abortion rights to “every person,” not just adults.
Welp said the referendum “allows for abortion up to viability, but then redefines viability,” saying the language could allow abortions “well into the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.” He said the extension of this right to every person would include minors and effectively “does away with parental consent.”
“Even if youʼre pro-choice, this goes too far,” Welp said. “This is too extreme.”
Missouri seeks to reverse trend
Missouri is the only state in which voters will be presented with a pro-life referendum, which would repeal the state’s constitutional right to abortion that was adopted via referendum in 2024 with support from 51.6% of voters.
“It has been a major focus of all four dioceses and of all four bishops,” Kathleen Lavery, communications director of the Missouri Catholic Conference — which represents the state’s dioceses — told EWTN News.
Lavery said the dioceses are working toward “trying to pass [the] amendment.” The referendum itself would not ban abortions or set a week-based limit but rather allow lawmakers to pass laws to restrict it in most cases. It would only prevent laws that ban abortion in cases of incest or rape within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy or in medical emergencies at any point in pregnancy.
The conference provided printed material, signs, and palm cards for parishes, and a webpage to “help people educate themselves about the amendment,” she said. Speakers from diocesan Respect Life offices are speaking at the end of Mass and visiting Catholic events, such as Knights of Columbus gatherings.
All four bishops unified on the message early, putting out a joint statement that the dignity of the human person is “threatened by the pro-abortion amendment passed in 2024.” They called for Catholics “and all people of good will” to join in prayer and fasting for the referendum’s success.
“We have put together information for our priests as well to help them educate the faithful,” Lavery said.
She noted there are “get out the vote” efforts at the parish level and said: “This amendment’s really going to come down to which side can activate its base and get people to the polls.”
“I’m very cautiously optimistic,” Lavery said. “I think we have a very good chance of winning this.”
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