Tag Archives: conscience

Abortion is still in the healthcare bill. What are pro-lifers doing about it?

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Not holding back, that’s for sure. If any of the current healthcare bills pass as proposed, it will be the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade, according to National Right to Life Committee.

Many pro-life groups have put the rest of their agendas on hold to focus solely on healthcare. Several organizations formed the Stop the Abortion Mandate coalition in the summer, which held a historical webcast with 19 pro-life leaders and over 36,000 activists. The Family Research Council built on that success and had another webcast a week later with over 70,000 participants.

CatholicVote’s action center CatholicAction parodied a Hollywood video/PSA that had celebrities endorsing current healthcare reform proposals. We just love the spirit of CatholicVote ads and the creative genius behind their work.

The Susan B. Anthony List created a great video to show that politicians are just hiding behind the Hyde Amendment when they say that abortion isn’t included in healthcare legislation. In reality, the Hyde Amendment, which has to be renewed every year, doesn’t even apply to healthcare funds, only Medicaid.

Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest has a great column in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled “Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Fund Abortion.” She talks about how current legislation would be breaking over 30 years worth of the government not funding elective abortion. Healthcare reform, as it stands, is a radical departure from the status quo.

AUL also released a fantastic short video calling out elected officials, including President Obama, for deceiving Americans on whether or not abortion is included in healthcare.

And Freedom2Care, the coalition of groups that want conscience protections for doctors who decline to perform or refer for abortions, are focusing on the point of view of healthcare professionals. Results from an online survey reveal startling news: 95% of faith-based physicians agreed, “I would rather stop practicing medicine altogether than be Dr. Sandy Christiansenforced to violate my conscience.”

 While current healthcare proposals would flood the already overloaded healthcare system in America with millions more patients, all the while forcing doctors to choose between their morals or their profession, how can President Obama possibly expect Americans to receive quality and timely care if his policies will force many doctors to quit?

 Several pro-life leaders all got on their webcams recently to show a united front against abortion coverage in healthcare reform. At such a crucial time in the history of our nation and in the fight to protect the unborn, these leaders are showing that we all must get involved and do it now.

What can you do? Contact your Member of Congress and tell you don’t want government dollars paying for abortions. Tell them abortion is not healthcare. And tell them you don’t want your doctor forced out of the practice of medicine.

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US Bishops: Ready to Oppose Healthcare If Principles Aren’t Met

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USSCB) made it crystal clear today that current healthcare legislation does NOT mean their concerns of: 1) making sure government funds do not pay for abortions and 2) that conscience rights are protected.

It gets better.

The bishops say in this new letter that they will continue to work with Congress but -

“If final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill.”

USSCB LogoThe USSCB has always advocated for some type of healthcare reform since Catholic moral teachings say that physical health is a gift entrusted to us by God. Here’s what the Catechism says:

2288: We must take reasonable care of [life and physical health], taking into account the needs of others and the common good.  Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance. [emphasis mine]

But the killing of the unborn come above anything else, as it should. Abortion is a grave moral evil and making healthcare out to be a moral right, which many have done, should never include the government funding of such an act.

The Bishops aren’t fooled by the clever rhetoric of the Obama Administration and the phony compromises put forth by pro-abortion Members of Congress.

See the full letter from the bishops here: www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/2009-10-08-healthcare-letter-congress.pdf.

 

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Abortion a Stumbling Block for Healthcare Reform?

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No one fooled by Capps Amendment…Rep. Bart Stupak holding his ground…Dems working on 2nd phony amendment…

Whenever the liberal Dems are pressed on whether or not abortion is funded by government dollars through healthcare, they often point back to the Capps Amendment in the House bill, which they say makes sure gov dollars aren’t spent on elective abortions. Of course, unless they are Nancy Pelosi, who doublespeaks when asked about it this summer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOMDyvVJad0.  

Fortunately for the majority of Americans who don’t want the government to fund abortions through healthcare, Congressman Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, is holding his ground against President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Stupak is pushing for an explicit exclusion of abortion to be written into healthcare legislation – and if he doesn’t get it, he says he’s got 40 votes against healthcare reform, something that Pelosi just can’t afford.

US News & World Report has a great Q&A with Stupak on his recent phone call with President Obama on abortion funding in healthcare. The gist is that Stupak is holding his ground and refuses to concede that the Capps Amendment prohibits gov money from paying for abortion.

So what to do now?

Well, Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and who has a pro-choice voting record even Nancy Pelosi would be envious of, wants to come up with a “compromise” with some of the more moderate members of Stupak’s coalition (read: former-pro-lifer-but-still-portrayed-as-pro-lifer Rep. Tim Ryan). He wants to strip away Stupak’s support bit by bit till he has the votes needed to pass a phony compromise, claim victory and hand the bill over to Pelosi. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, admitted as much.

Doug Johnson, the legislative director at National Right to Life, blows up the rhetoric once again:

 ”Pelosi and Waxman are working on cosmetic changes to the Capps Amendment, which they will then try to peddle as an even-more-generous ‘compromise’ by the pro-abortion side (but which in reality will put the federal government into the elective abortion business in both the public plan and the premium subsidy program).”

Johnson also says that even if the House members adopt the new Waxman language, it doesn’t alleviate the concern of abortion funding found in the public option. In fact, the government option “problem is very important and separate and distinct from the premium-subsidy problem.”

TIME Magazine, the independent FactCheck.org and the Associated Press, among others, have all confirmed that abortion will be paid for using government dollars with the current healthcare plan.

For more info on the Capps Amendment and other talking points, see www.StopTheAbortionMandate.com.

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Setback Today but the Fight is Not Over

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It’s important to remember that this fight is not over but sadly as expected the amendments to restrict public funding of abortion and conscience protection failed today in the Senate Finance Committee.  There are more options in the Senate and pro lifers there plan to keep up this fight.  On the House side, earlier this week 183 Members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to Speaker Pelosi asking for a vote the Stupak-Pitts amendments. 

Great coverage here by Steven Ertelt at LifeNews.  http://www.lifenews.com/nat5521.html

“The Hatch nondiscrimination amendment failed by a vote of 13-10 with pro-abortion Sen. Olympia Snow, a Maine Republican, siding with Democrats on the panel to oppose the measure.

Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, joined Republicans in supporting the amendment.”

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Health Care Bill An Abortion Industry Payout

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AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE has a great piece by Mary Harned on the items that are scheduled to be voted on today (Tuesday, Sept 29) in the Senate Finance Committee regarding abortion in the new health care bill.  One does not need to be a cynic to believe that there are people in government who are willing to exploit weak language in legislation to pay off special interests – either now or in the future.  This is what makes today’s votes in committee important as pro-life senators try to close the backdoor opportunities to funnel millions of tax dollars to abortion providers should this health care bill get signed into law.
 
Please take a moment to read the piece over at Americans United for Life, and don’t forget to join us in prayer on this Feast of St. Michael the Archangel for the Senate Finance Committee members as they consider these amendments.

Patrick Looby, Fredericksburg, VA

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