Cardinal Condemns Weld Bill

BOSTON--The Roman Catholic Church's top prelate in Massachusetts has condemned an abortion rights bill filed by Gov. William F. Weld, saying it would create "a culture of death" in the state.

But Weld said the measure was a politically conservative move in tune with his philosophy of keeping the government from interfering in the private lives of citizens.

Weld proposed the legislation yesterday that, among other provisions, would make it easier for teenagers between 16 and 18 to get abortions.

Cardinal Bernard Law, the archbishop of Boston, and Weld disagreed over other provisions. Law insisted the bill would virtually guarantee abortion on demand through the full nine months of pregnancy, while Weld aides said it would not change current legal restrictions on abortion access.

The bill would remove from the state's lawbooks statutes against abortion that have been struck down by federal and state courts, Weld said.

"In my mind, freedom of choice goes to the heart of the principles embodied in our Constitution, freedom from government interference in the private lives of citizens," Weld said.

"We must trust women to make this fundamental decision," Lt. Gov. Paul Cellucci said as he joined Weld at a news conference where the legislation was outlined.

The Weld initiative included lowering to 16 the age where parental consent would not be required for abortions. It also would allow abortions for girls under 16 if only one parent consented. The law now requires both parents to agree if both are living. Teenagers can appeal to courts if they cannot, or do not, want to seek parental consent.

At a rare news conference at his residence, Law read a statement on behalf of himself as archbishop of Boston and on behalf of the bishops of the state's three other Roman Catholic dioceses.

"As bishops of the four Roman Catholic dioceses in Massachusetts, we wish to state publicly our total and vigorous opposition to this devastating initiative that seeks to make Massachusetts the Commonwealth of death for the innocent," Law said.

Speaking to a reporter after the news conference, Law said he was convinced the bill would allow virtually unlimited access to abortion at any time during a pregnancy.

"We do not think that the best thing a society can do for a woman in a crisis pregnancy is to kill the unborn child within her womb," Law said.

Massachusetts Citizens For Life, the state's leading anti-abortion group, accused Weld of paying off election obligations with the bill. The Republican Weld received considerable support in the 1990 election from abortion-rights supporters.

At a separate news conference, Teresa Hanley, president of Massachusetts Citizens For Life, attacked Weld's position.

"It used to be popular for some politicians to kiss babies to win votes," she said. "Today we're seeing that some politicians will kill babies to win votes."

Weld said his legislation would repeal several now-unenforceable laws that could jeopardize abortion rights if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision.

Roe v. Wade guaranteed abortion rights, but abortion rights supporters are worried that a now more conservative Supreme Court may overturn it or, at the very least, restrict its guarantees of abortion access.

Weld said lowering the age of consent and reducing the requirement to one parent recognizes the number of single-parent families and differing family relationships.

"Massachusetts shares with North Dakota the dubious distinction of having the most restrictive parental involvement laws in the nation," Weld said. "The reality is that the number of teen pregnancies has skyrocketed in Massachusetts. We can either ignore this reality by sticking our heads in the sand or we can take responsible action to protect the lives of these young women."

But Hanley said the move would remove from teenagers a protection against being rushed through an abortion clinic.

"Reducing the age of consent to 16, which makes the girl only a sophomore in high school, strips a parent of their rights as parents," she said.

House Minority Leader Peter Forman (R-Plymouth), who joined Weld at the news conference on the abortion rights legislation, later, through an aide, said he was opposed to the sections dealing with parental consent.

Lewis Howe, an aide to Senate Minority Leader David Locke (R-Wellesley), said Locke also would oppose those changes.

In addition to lowering the age of consent, the Weld bill would:

*Repeal a law, already struck down by state courts, that prohibits the use of Medicaid money to pay for abortions.

*Allow public employee health insurance to cover abortions. State law now prohibits that.

*Prohibit blocking of access to abortion clinics, a move aimed at the anti-abortion efforts of groups such as Operation Rescue.

*Repeal the designation of October as "Pro-Life Month."

The Legislature has historically been reluctant to ease abortion restrictions, but Weld said he felt there was a reasonable chance of the bill being passed.

Law, however, said he would urge every legislator to vote against the bill.

This was the second time the archdiocese and the Weld administration have clashed over abortion.

While Weld is an Episcopalian, Cellucci is a Catholic. Last spring, the Catholic Church prohibited Cellucci's Roman Catholic high school in Hudson from having him as its graduation speaker because of Cellucci's pro-choice stance.