In the Gospel of Matthew, an exhausted Jesus was traveling from Galilee to Judea when a group of little children were brought to him for a blessing. When his disciples tried to shoo them away, Jesus rebuked them, saying: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

For Jesus, children were a priority whose well-being begins at conception and continues long thereafter. Will there be enough food to eat? Adequate healthcare? Housing? Educational opportunities? Safety from gun violence? Clean air to breathe and water to drink?

These questions are matters of public policy, and Catholics must pay attention.

At the Second Vatican Council, the bishops proclaimed that issues affecting “human dignity,” like “subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children” and “disgraceful working conditions” all “poison human society and are a “supreme dishonor to the creator.”

Among these issues, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops maintains that ending abortion and euthanasia must be “preeminent” priorities. And for many Catholics, abortion is a stumbling block when it comes to supporting Kamala Harris.

Abortion should trouble every person of faith. However, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has shown that government overreach has prevented some medically necessary abortions. We have learned about women who have miscarried in hospital parking........

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