Catholics for Choice President Jamie L. Manson Joins President Biden for the Signing of the Respect for Marriage Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Contact: John Becker, Press Secretary
Phone: 202-203-0931
Email: jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice President Jamie L. Manson Joins President Biden for the Signing of the Respect for Marriage Act
President Jamie Manson: “Catholics for Choice applauds the Respect for Marriage Act as an important advancement of the Catholic social justice imperative to care for the marginalized.”
WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which uplifts and amplifies the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom, released the following statement from President Jamie L. Manson, M.Div. as she joins President Joe Biden for the signing of H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA):
“I am grateful that our pro-choice Catholic President Joe Biden will sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law today, and for the tireless leadership of our pro-choice Catholic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress who worked to get this bill over the finish line. As a longtime Catholic LGBTQIA+ activist, I am thankful for the opportunity to bear witness to this landmark moment in human rights history.
“While the Respect for Marriage Act is imperfect, it repeals the hateful and discriminatory ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and writes protections for same-sex and interracial marriages into federal law. The Supreme Court made clear with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that they cannot be trusted to protect our fundamental rights. This law establishes a critical safety net for millions of couples across the country, in the event that the Court does the unthinkable once again. As a lesbian who fights every day for reproductive freedom, I call on Congress to take similar decisive action to protect the abortion rights that the Supreme Court has already stripped away.
“Catholics for Choice applauds the Respect for Marriage Act as an important advancement of the Catholic social justice imperative to care for the marginalized. We reaffirm our faith-based commitment to building a world where every person’s rights and dignity is respected, protected, and no longer subjected to the whims of partisan politics or cruelly capricious courts.”
Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.
