Battle Over Abortion Funding in Congress Pits Catholics Against Each Other

Life News ^ | 1/4/10 | Deal Hudson

[wagglebee]

LifeNews.com Note: Deal W. Hudson is the director of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture and InsideCatholic.com, and is the author of Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon and Schuster).

The present standoff over abortion funding in health-care reform pits two sets of Catholics against each other: The bishops, supported by pro-life leaders, zealously oppose abortion funding, while prominent Catholic members of Congress just as zealously promote it.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi leads the pro-abortion Catholic pack pushing hard for abortion funding in the health-care bill. Her 100 percent rating from NARAL should dispel any misconception about her decision to allow a vote on the Stupak-Pitts amendment: It was political expediency, pure and simple.

As if to assure her pro-abortion supporters before the final vote, Pelosi told Newsweek in a recent interview that the Church's position on abortion denies women the "opportunity to exercise their free will." Somewhere in her Catholic education, Pelosi evidently missed the lesson that moral rules are both possible and necessary because we have free will.

Pelosi's pro-abortion partner is another Catholic, Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-CT), who is always close at hand when members of Congress bash the Church for its stance on life issues. De Lauro said of the Stupak-Pitts amendment, "It takes away that same freedom of conscience from America's women. It prohibits them from access to an abortion even if they pay for it with their own money. It invades women's personal decisions."

A few days ago, De Lauro told the Huffington Post that she might be willing to support the abortion language of the Senate bill. This is a significant admission, since she is one of the House members assigned to work out the abortion language on the final version of the bill. She's falsely claiming that the Senate bill is "abortion neutral," that it maintains the current law. "Abortion neutral" is the favorite mantra being used by all the pro-abortion Catholics supporting this bill, including Pelosi, Catholics United, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

The Catholic bishops don't buy that argument. They recognize the Senate version of the bill is far from neutral and a direct violation of the Hyde Amendment, since it mandates government subsidies for private insurance plans covering abortion. There are additional problems with the bill, such as the lack of conscience protections, but the bill gives power to the White House to require insurance companies to pay for abortions.

This last threat is the product of an amendment by leader of pro-abortion Catholics in the Senate, Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).

The Mikulski Amendment to the heath-care bill, passed by the Senate on December 3, presents another avenue for federal funding for abortion by wrapping it under "preventative care" of "women's health." As National Right to Life has pointed out, Mikulski's amendment would give the executive branch "sweeping authority to define services that private health plans must cover, merely by declaring a given service to constitute 'preventive care,' then that authority could be employed in the future to require all health plans to cover abortions."

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Mikulski in the Senate are three other pro-abortion Catholics: John Kerry (D-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), all of whom have gone on the record supporting expansion of federal funding for abortion. Health-care reform is the opportunity they and other pro-abortion Catholics have been hoping for. Sadly, 15 Catholic Senators voted against an amendment that would have excluded abortion funding from the Senate bill.

Given the scandalous record of Catholics in Congress on life issues, it should come as no surprise that the presence of abortion funding in the health-care bill is largely the product of pro-abortion Catholics determined to overcome the restrictions of the Hyde Amendment.

If the health-care bill passes in its present form and is signed by President Obama, the Church will have to bear a portion of the blame. It's not merely a matter of how hard the USCCB presses its case with the 111th Congress; the chain of cause and effect goes back decades and runs through universities, colleges, chanceries, schools, parishes, homes, and, of course, the USCCB itself.

[wagglebee]

This isn't a battle between Catholics, it's a battle between Catholics and apostates who need to be formally excommunicated.

[wagglebee]

Pro-Life Ping

[wagglebee]

For your ping lists.

[netmilsmom]

Amen!

[wagglebee]

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[IbJensen]

I couldn't have put it any better.

The Party of Death and Communism versus Republicans. Hopefully they won't screw it up!

[Salvation]

**Battle Over Abortion Funding in Congress Pits Catholics Against Each Other**

Not an accurate headline.

REAL Catholics oppose Abortion Funding in the congressional bills.

CINOs don’t really care one way or the other. It’s people like the Kennedys, Biden, Daschle, Pelosi, et al who voted for abortion when they voted for Obortion Obama.

[Salvation]

The Bishops and REAL Catholics do not support Obamacare. Defeat it! We don't want it!

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[cranked]

Pro-Choice Catholic is an oxymoron.

[Jim Noble]

This isn't a battle between Catholics, it's a battle between Catholics and apostates who need to be formally excommunicated.

Wagglebee, this is one of the most difficult things for me, a Catholic wannabe, to understand.

Most of the discouraging words I've had re: conversion have come from Catholic clergy. The largest number of apostates from Christianity in the world are formally Catholic.

You can call them apostate, or heretics, or CINOs - but if they receive communion from the hands of bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, I'd say they are publicly recognized as Catholic by any reasonable definition of the word.

Perhaps, they should be excommunicated - but it means something that they aren't, no?

[Dr. North]

Anyone supporting abortion is not Christian.

[afraidfortherepublic]

She's falsely claiming that the Senate bill is "abortion neutral," that it maintains the current law. "Abortion neutral" is the favorite mantra being used by all the pro-abortion Catholics supporting this bill, including Pelosi, Catholics United, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

At a townhall this morning, our Jewish Senator tried to claim this same point. We're not buying it, Rusty Feingold. He held 2 meetings today, and I dare say that the crowds at both were ready to carry him out on a rail.

[Graybeard58]

Where might I find a list of members of congress and their professed religion? All the rat pro death members can’t all be Catholic. I want to see members of my chosen religion who are pro death, if there are any.

[dumpthelibs]

Ditto

[ishmac]

Sadly, even the so-called "prolife Catholics" aren't solid. Check out this revealing little town hall statement made by Rep Bart Stupak:

Rep. Bart Stupak speaking in Cheboygan, MI

It's bad enough that we have open apostates claiming to be good Catholics (e.g., Pelosi); we also have to contend with the wolves in sheep's clothing such as Stupak.

[wagglebee]

Most of the discouraging words I've had re: conversion have come from Catholic clergy.

Make no mistake, the are a lot of Catholic priests who are apostates and this is more true in liberal parts of the country.

The largest number of apostates from Christianity in the world are formally Catholic.

Nearly half of the Christians in the world are Catholic, it is to be expected that they would contain the largest number of apostates. But I also believe that the largest number of devout Christians are Catholics.

Keep in mind that many mainline Protestant denominations in America don't oppose abortion at all.

You can call them apostate, or heretics, or CINOs - but if they receive communion from the hands of bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, I'd say they are publicly recognized as Catholic by any reasonable definition of the word.

Perhaps, they should be excommunicated - but it means something that they aren't, no?

I understand what you are saying and I agree, it is very troubling.

[marron]

Its a battle between believing Christians and posers.

[wagglebee]

Where might I find a list of members of congress and their professed religion?

I wish I had such a list but I don't.

[SuziQ]

These folks have already excommunicated themselves, in their attempt to suck up to liberal voters, but they’d better starting thinking about their eternal salvation instead of the next Congressional election. If they don’t, they’re gonna get a really BAD shock when they die and have to stand before the throne of God to explain their actions.

[AnAmericanMother]

Perhaps, they should be excommunicated - but it means something that they aren't, no?

Actually, they are excommunicated automatically. If they continue to receive communion, they are 'eating and drinking damnation unto themselves'. And they know it, they just don't care because they aren't really Catholic and they don't really believe. They call themselves Catholic partly because their family has always been Catholic and partly because they are simply trolling for as many Catholic votes as possible. Most of them have been reprimanded by their bishops at this point (some of them very pointedly) so they have been warned - they just don't care.

Problem is, that doesn't make as much of an impression as the old public ceremony of bell, book, and candle.

Perhaps the bishops ought to bring that back, even if they have to change the Code of Canon Law to do it.

And, as wagglebee says, much of the responsibility for having let things get to this pretty pass is the nonfeasance and malfeasance of American bishops in the past. They let their fear of the strong and persistent strain of anti-Catholicism in American politics overcome their obligation to lead their flock. 50 years of looking the other way is not going to be corrected all at once.

Jim, if you can identify your diocese, somebody on FR can steer you to a holy and orthodox Catholic priest.

When I was looking for a parish back when we converted, I got very good advice here. The advice I got most often was to look for a parish that had Adoration, a Rosary Guild, 40 Hours Devotion, etc. We found a VERY orthodox parish with truly holy priests. Even in suburban Atlanta GA (there are some funky parishes here, and it seems like we visited most of them!)