Silver linings
The loss on health care was very discouraging. However, there are always silver linings to be found. Here are a few:
- Some pseudo-Catholics came out from the woodwork, and took a stand directly against the voice of the American bishops. Will the bishops now have the courage to take official sanctions against these groups? Let us pray that they will.
- We found out that many of the “pro-life” Democrats are pro-life in name only. With some of the comments Bart Stupak has made lately, it’s pretty unclear whether he is actually pro-life at all. People will now think twice before voting for a Democrat who claims to be pro-life. For that matter, we need to investigate more thoroughly the pro-life credentials of any candidate for office, not just see whether they identify themselves as pro-life on a questionnaire.
- The health care reform (and the abortion coverage within it) was very unpopular, leading to hope that the Democratic majority in the House will be erased after this year’s elections.
What do we do now? We continue to fight even harder and keep the real goal in mind. Make no mistake; our goal is that abortion will be illegal, and that we will create a civilization of love such that abortion will not be even considered as an option. If we do that, the concerns about the health care plan will fade away. America is becoming more pro-life. The outcome this time does not change that.
One thing we need to get into the public consciousness is that the “no federal funding of abortion” claim in regards to the health care reform is a farce. It’s no more than an accounting gimmick. The important thing is that people know that the bill DOES specify that the government plan covers abortion.
In the short term, this was a failure, but that we even came close to derailing it with sizable Demoncratic majorities throughout the government is somewhat encouraging. There is still hope that this can be repealed or at least heavily modified before it begins to drain the lifeblood out of our country.
The Last Battle
The next couple weeks, one way or another, will mark the end of the long process of the national health care debate. Obama and the Democrat leaders will try to find enough votes in the House to pass the Senate version of the legislation, which was passed before Scott Brown took office.
The important things to know are in this article by Abp. Chaput. Besides the points that Abp. Chaput mentions, I would also add that the plan violates the Catholic social principle of subsidiarity.
There are three things we all must do:
1) Fast and pray this week! At least one diocese has declared a day of prayer and fasting today.
2) Contact your House representative.
3) Go to the StandWithStupak site to sign a petition and send a note to several key Democratic House members who have stood with Stupak in resisting this bill so far. It also has the phone numbers of several of the Representatives so you can call them directly.
Crunch Time to defeat Obamacare
Well, the latest is that the Senate version of Obamacare will be voted on this week or next by both the Senate and the House. If this is true, then the pro-life victory in the House which prohibited abortion coverage has been wiped out, and the version that will come to a final vote DOES contain coverage for abortion. Don’t be confused by claims that the bill is abortion-neutral or does not contain funding of abortion. The Senate bill, as currently stands, definitely DOES allow for abortions to be covered in the health care plan, and the most likely scenario is that the House will simply be voting on the Senate version without any chance to reinsert the pro-life Stupak amendment.
Public opinion is against this bill because of abortion, as well as other reasons. NOW is the time to make your voice heard to your Senators and Congressmen. For those of you that have Senators or Congressmen that will not be convinced by arguments about abortion (such as is the case with the Senators here in Minnesota), try using other reasons to make the case, such as the angle that the health care bill is a major expense at a time when our country can’t afford another money pit.
The best chance to defeat the bill is still in the House, so focus on your Congressmen, especially those of you who live in districts with more moderate Democrats who voted for the original Stupak amendment. Move your cursor over the Contact header on the main Rosaries for Life site to contact your Senators and Congressmen!
Don’t forget to fast and pray the Rosary for our nation in this critical time! If you have not already pledged your prayers, please do so!
Update: At US News and World Report, there is this informative report about the current abortion related issues in the health care bill.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and a great miracle
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, a great missionary saint to the U.S. whose presence graced many places in our country, including Seattle, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, and Denver. She was the first United States citizen to be canonized.
She crossed the Atlantic 25 times back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded many hospitals, and spent time in Central and South America as well. She cared deeply about immigrants and is now the Patron Saint of Immigrants.
She also performed a spectacular miracle after her death. A nurse/nun accidentally gave a newborn baby an incorrect dose of silver oxide in the eyes that burned the baby’s eyes out! The baby’s eyes and sight were miraculously recovered due to the intercession of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.
For more about this wonderful saint, go here, and for a detailed account of the miracle mentioned above (and others), I recommend the book, Nothing Short of A Miracle, by Patricia Treece.
Let’s ask this great saint to intercede strongly for our country, especially for moral and compassionate solutions to our immigration and health care issues!
Saddle up to stop Obamacare - beware deception!
I originally posted this last month, but it needs to be brought to the forefront again. This bill is going to pass within the next month, and WITH abortion coverage, unless there is a deluge of phone calls and E-mails to your senators and representatives in Congress. The latest is that Pelosi is going to try to ram through a version of the bill containing abortion before people can react to it. Let’s not let that happen.
Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric. Even the left-leaning factcheck.org comes to the conclusion that the health care bill currently being proposed WOULD have coverage of abortion.
Don’t be fooled by Obama’s misleading statement in his speech to Congress that “no federal funds will pay for abortions” either. Many seem to have been fooled by this, including some elements within the USCCB. This DOES NOT mean that the plan does not COVER abortions (though that’s what he would like you to believe). It simply means (again from the factcheck.org article linked above):
The Capps amendment does contain a statement…that prohibits the use of public money to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. That would still allow the public plan to cover all abortions, so long as the plans took in enough private money in the form of premiums paid by individuals or their employers.
In other words, abortions ARE covered by the plan, but they are paid for using the premium revenues rather than the money that the government chips in. Very deceptive indeed, and probably an outright lie, since premiums, once received, are also federal funds. With this, any tiny bit of good will and honesty that I’d have liked to presume that this Administration had is gone. Go here for more details about this deception.
PLEASE get involved and let your senators and congressmen know how you feel. The “Contact” tab on our main site will get you to the right place. It is vitally important to the future of our country that we derail this plan.
For the best Catholic perspective I’ve seen on this health care bill, and health care issues in general as they relate to Catholic teaching, I HIGHLY recommend that you read the statement of Bishops Finn and Naumann of Kansas City. It is quite debatable whether this plan is the right plan for our country even if the legislation did not provide coverage for abortion, but as long as it does include abortion, we Catholics MUST oppose this with all of our might!
