Illinois’ Catholic leaders urged lawmakers Thursday to oppose two bills that would change the state’s abortion laws.

The state’s six bishops addressed lawmakers at a news conference in Springfield. Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, spoke against the proposed Reproductive Health Act and another bill that would repeal a state law requiring parental notification for minors seeking an abortion.

“We must view this proposed legislation as the latest attack on human dignity, motivated by the dominant cultural ethic that asserts that lives of unborn children have no value and sanctity when weighed against the wishes and needs of others,” he said.

Democrats have introduced bills that would do away with criminal penalties for abortion providers, remove a parental notice requirement for minors seeking an abortion, and allow medical professionals other than doctors and nurses to perform the procedure.

Although the measures have not advanced, the church leaders said it was important to address them nonetheless.

Questions from reporters quickly turned to the church’s child sex abuse scandal. Earlier this month, a Minnesota law firm released a 182-page report with details about 395 Catholic clergy members and church staff in Illinois who have been accused of sexual misconduct.

One reporter asked what standing the church had to lecture about the issue given the widespread, decades-long practice of priests abusing children.

“Those are all very important questions … but this issue, no matter who speaks for it, is so compelling that it needs to be heard and the focus needs to stay on [abortion] today,” Cupich said. “Those other questions – and others you may have about other topics – are important and they surely should be responded to in their own venue.”