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A Call to Arms

by Margaret Datiles 

On Tuesday night at the White House, President Obama and Democratic leaders agreed to base the final health care reform bill on the Senate version – which lacks the House’s strong abortion restrictions – without a public conference committee.  So far, party leaders in Congress have refused to allow C-SPAN to cover the private negotiations of the bill’s final version.

With the Senate bill barely passing on Christmas Eve, longstanding federal norms and policies against government funding of abortion and an American public that strongly supports banning government funds for abortion, it seems advocates of the bill know that the only way to pass radically pro-abortion measures is to do it behind closed doors. 

Where does this leave Catholics?  Under these circumstances, what is our duty as Catholic citizens? 

To answer these questions, let’s consider the pertinent issues:

What does the Senate health care bill do?

The Senate version of the health care bill includes massive government funding for abortion. It violates longstanding federal policies, such as the Hyde Amendment and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which prohibit abortion coverage using government funds. It is a clear, radical departure from traditional American norms concerning federal treatment of abortion.

The Nelson-Reid Amendment to the Senate bill sets forth the first-ever “abortion tax” in U.S. history by authorizing states to mandate taxpayer funding of abortions. What is more, under the Mikulski Amendment, the Obama administration may categorize abortion as “preventative care” and subsequently require all insurance companies to pay for abortions.

The “opt out” provision is not an adequate solution. It still makes insurance coverage of abortion the norm. It will also require states to take additional action to stop allocation of government funds to private plans that choose to opt out. Both of these results conflict with current American policies.

Rights of conscience are also at stake in the Senate bill. The Senate bill does not prohibit the government from discriminating against health care providers who choose not to participate in abortions on grounds of conscience.

How is the Senate bill different from the House bill, and why does it matter?

Unlike the Senate version, the House bill contains the pro-life Stupak-Pitts Amendment. This Amendment prohibits government funding of abortions, in accordance with existing federal policies. It also provides protection against discrimination for health care providers who do not want to participate in abortions. 

As the Senate bill will be used as the model or basis for the final version of the health care bill, there is a great danger that the pro-life provisions of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment will be left out of the final version.

What do the majority of Americans think?

Polling clearly shows that the vast majority of Americans opposes government funding of elective abortions and strongly support bans on government funds for abortion. 

• A Rasmussen Reports poll this week found that 53 percent of Americans favor prohibiting abortion coverage by health insurance plans that receive federal government funding. A previous Rasmussen poll yielded similar figures, with a mere 13 percent favoring abortion coverage.

• Last month, a Quinnipac poll showed 72 percent of Americans oppose “using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions.” 

• CNN found that 61 percent of Americans think that funding of abortion should not be part of a government health care reform.

• An International Communications Research poll found that 67 percent of participants opposed tax-payer funding of abortion.

• And a poll from Public Opinion Strategies showed that 58 percent of Americans do not believe that the government has an obligation to provide abortion services under a new health plan available for all Americans.

What do the bishops say?

Despite some debate regarding whether or not a universal health care system violates the Catholic principle of subsidarity, the U.S. bishops have been consistent in their opposition to the Senate health care bill. 

In letters to Congress and various press releases, the U.S. bishops conference has stated that “in all the areas of our moral concern, the Senate health care reform bill is deficient.  On the issue of respect for unborn human life, the bill not only falls short of the House’s standard but violates longstanding precedent in all other federal health programs. ... Until these fundamental flaws are remedied the bill should be opposed.”

The bishops continued, stating, “We will work vigorously to incorporate into the final legislation our priorities for upholding conscience rights and longstanding prohibitions on abortion funding.”

What is our Catholic duty?

Separation of Church and State does not mean that we can turn a blind eye to what is happening in Washington. In this situation, it is our duty as Catholic citizens to be involved in the legislative process in what ways we can to fight against the passage and enactment of a radically pro-abortion health care program. We simply must stand up for the core principles of our faith in the public square. 

We can all do this, regardless of our profession or state of life – keeping informed, discussing the issues with family and friends, and voicing our opposition to pro-abortion health care by emailing, calling or writing to our Congressmen. Last, but certainly not least, we must pray. 

As the bishops stated, we must “work vigorously” to defend the dignity of human life, especially that of the unborn. The time is now. In a strategic move, it appears President Obama is seeking to postpone his State of the Union address until early next month – likely hoping to tout the passed legislation by then. Last fall, Obama told Congress that the bill would not include federal funding of abortion: Let’s hold him to his word.

In terms of defeating pro-abortion legislation, the bishops issued a call to arms of action and prayer. I urge all Catholics to follow – it is our duty.

 

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(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Headline Bistro or the Knights of Columbus.)