LIFE ISSUES FORUM                                                       

August 20, 2010
For Immediate Release
FDA Blurs the Abortion-Contraception Line Again
By Deirdre A. McQuade

Late on Friday, August 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new drug called “ella” (Ulipristal acetate) for use as an “emergency contraceptive” up to five days after sexual intercourse. If I were superstitious, I would say that this particular Friday the thirteenth brought bad luck for women and their unborn children. Why?

Even more than other drugs proposed for “emergency contraception,” ella crosses the line between contraception and abortion. It is similar in its formula and biological effects to the abortion drug RU-486, which can be used to induce abortion up to 49 days’ gestation. Both drugs inhibit progesterone – a hormone needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy – by blocking progesterone receptors in the lining of the womb (the endometrium) and causing it to deteriorate. But if the mother’s endometrium is not hospitable or starts to shed prematurely, the 6-to-10-day-old embryo will have difficulty becoming or remaining implanted in the womb. Her vulnerable child will die from the lack of nutrients and oxygen and be sloughed off in her menstrual cycle. Thus, ella can effectively starve a newly conceived unborn child even after implantation in his or her mother’s womb, what the American Medical Association calls an “established pregnancy.”

Although the drug works like RU-486 -- which the FDA approved in 2002 as an abortion method, not as contraception -- ella has been approved as a “contraceptive” for use up to five days after intercourse. The FDA approval blurs the line between preventing conception in the first place, and preventing implantation or even ending an established pregnancy after implantation, killing a person in the earliest weeks of life.
             
You don’t have to be Catholic or even pro-life to oppose the promotion of abortion as contraception. According to a recent Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters, 58% of women consider abortion morally wrong in most cases. If ella is promoted as a way of preventing pregnancy, many women will be misled as to how it actually works, and will not know that they are putting their newly-conceived children at risk. Blurring the line between abortion and contraception undermines women’s informed consent. The Catholic Church objects to all contraception, but marketing abortion as “emergency contraception” is an additional offense against human dignity. It is also a huge disservice to women of any religious faith (or none) who would not knowingly choose to abort. Women and men alike deserve to know that ella can cause abortions.

Friday the thirteenth got its bad reputation, in part, from Judas’ betrayal of Jesus on Good Friday for a bag of silver coins. Now the FDA has betrayed women as well as their unborn children, by selling out to abortion advocates. Abortion is not health care, because pregnancy is not a disease to be treated with drugs or surgery. Ella is just the latest drug to treat pregnancy as a pathological condition. Drug manufacturers will profit while innocent humans pay with their lives. The Catholic bishops will continue to oppose the promotion of ella, and to raise awareness about this abortion-causing drug.

Dear Catholic Faithful,

Thank you to all those who have written letters, sent emails and made calls to the Governor requesting clemency for those on death row. In the past fifty years there have been six executions. Tennessee is now seeking to execute four more persons in 2010. In the Human Life position of the Catholic Bishops of Tennessee it says;

"Society has a right and duty to defend itself against violent crime and a duty to reach out to victims of crime. Yet our nation’s increasing reliance on the death penalty is extremely troubling. Respect for human life must even include respect for the lives of those who have taken the lives of others. It has become clear, as Pope John Paul II has taught, that inflicting the penalty of death is cruel and unnecessary. The antidote to violence is not more violence. As a part of our pro-life commitment, we encourage solutions to violent crime that reflect the dignity of the human person, urging our nation to abandon the use of capital punishment. Respect for human life and dignity is the necessary first step in building a civilization of life and love."

Please take a moment and ask the Governor to grant clemency to those on death row 615-741-2001 or phil.bredesen@tn.gov.

Peace be with you,

Jennifer Murphy
TN Catholic Public Policy Commission

Date: June 18, 2010
To: Diocesan Pro-Life Directors
State Catholic Conference Directors
From: Richard Doerflinger
Re: Recent Public Policy Developments

I'm writing to provide a brief update on several public policy developments receiving the attention of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities.

1. H.R. 5111 (Pitts/Lipinski bill): Fixing life and conscience problems in the new health care law

I hope you've seen our letter endorsing this new bill, and NCHLA's alert requesting help in getting House members who supported the Stupak amendment in November to become co-sponsors.

The bill now has 109 sponsors, including 12 Democrats. Two sponsors, one from each party -- Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Joseph Cao (R-LA) -- voted for the House health care reform bill in November but opposed the final bill after the pro-life language we supported had been removed. One new sponsor added in May, Jerry Costello (D-IL), voted for the health care reform bill both times. This illustrates an argument in our letter to the House, that pro-life members can and should support this bill regardless of how they voted on the final health care law. Even people who disagreed on whether the final bill was too deficient to support can surely agree that these changes are worthwhile improvements. This is an opportunity for new common ground, and we hope Rep. Costello will be joined by others in his situation.

Recently law professor Timothy Jost, who had criticized our efforts on the Stupak amendment in November, published an article in Commonweal magazine critiquing our letter in support of H.R. 5111. Some of his charges are old hat while others are new misreadings of the law and of the USCCB's position. I posted a response this week, which is attached here and can also be seen directly underneath his article on the magazine's web site: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/episcopal-oversight.

2. Renewed Fight on Military Abortions

Recently the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment by Senator Burris (D-IL) to the Defense authorization bill, reversing the ban on use of military facilities and personnel for elective abortions. (The House has passed this bill with the traditional policy intact.) We will support efforts in the Senate to restore the ban, then urge the House to stand firm in its own position if the Senate bill does not change. Attached is a recent letter to the Senate on this issue from the Archdiocese on Military Services; next week you will see a USCCB letter, and an alert from NCHLA at the appropriate time. We are not sure when this bill will come to the Senate floor, but it may not occur until after the July 4 recess.

3. FDA Plan to Approve Ulipristal ("Ella")

On June 17, an FDA advisory committee unanimously approved a plan to allow the use of the abortion drug ulipristal (trade name "Ella") for "emergency contraception" up to five days after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Unlike the already approved drug known as "Plan B," ulipristal is a close analogue to the abortion drug RU-486 which can destroy a newly conceived unborn child both before and after implantation. It therefore marks a new and more definitive step toward destroying any distinction between contraception and abortion. Cardinal DiNardo has written to the FDA commissioner protesting against this development, and we will be saying and writing a great deal more about it to educate policy makers and others. One good source of medical documentation on this is the testimony submitted to the FDA by the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, cited in the footnote of the Cardinal's letter.

I hope these updates are helpful. My thanks to all our directors who continue to rise to every challenge involving the protection of innocent human life!

The Catholic Public Policy Commission Strongly Opposes HB270/ SB1141
Our last chance to prevent this bill from becoming law is to ask Governor Bredesen to VETO!
 
HB670/SB1141 Summary: As introduced, requires a keeper of a jail to notify the department of homeland security by facsimile transmission or other means of prisoners whose citizenship status in this country cannot be determined at time of arrest from documents in the prisoner's possession or if person is in this country illegally.

Catholic Social Teachings: Solidarity: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological difference.  We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.  Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world.  At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.  Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want to peace, work for justice.”  The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers.  Our love for all our brothers and sisters demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.  
 
Why this legislation is bad: Immigration Law is extremely complex requiring specialized knowledge and expertise.  There are dozens of different types of lawful status.  It is important to note that people do not carry their citizenship or legal documents on them.  Immigration is a federal responsibility.  We need the Federal Immigration Reform!
 
Immigration work diverts scarce law enforcement resources away from the core mission and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies.  Local Law Enforcement officers should not get involved with the enforcement of federal immigration law.  Local involvement in the federal immigration law can erode the trust between the community and the local law enforcement agencies. Local involvement in federal immigration law undermines the building of strong, inclusive communities.

The bill does not define “reasonable effort” to review documents in the possession of the person.  What does that mean?  It is too vague and leaves too much discretion in the hands of the jail staff/officers.  This type of legislation can foster and/or lead to racial profiling of defendants who look or sound foreign unless they are implemented in a non-discriminatory way.  

This bill is written to apply to every person that is arrested for any offense and is confined.  That means that jail staff/officers must review documents of every person arrested and confined; they cannot be selective. And only review those documents of people that appear foreign to them.  If they do so they will be violating both federal and state laws and will likely be sued and have to defend their practices in court.  
 
What You Can Do NOW:
Contact the Governor at:
Phone: 615.741.2001
Fax: 615.532.9711
Email: Phil.Bredesen@tn.gov

Tennessee's New Abolitionists Now Available
Gaile Owens To Appear on CBS Sunday Morning, June 13

CBS Sunday Morning recently flew to Nashville to film Gaile Owens as part of a national death penalty story tentatively scheduled to air Sunday, June 13, at 8 a.m. CST. During the filming process, Gaile spoke about how overwhelmed she is by the number of people supporting and
rooting for her. She shared how touched she is that so many have taken the time to sign the petition and how so very thankful she is for each and every person working on her behalf. Please tune in this Sunday.

From the back cover of Tennessee’s New Abolitionists

Seeking to illuminate Tennessee's death penalty system and those who oppose it, this collection of essays combines a historical overview of efforts to abolish state killing in Tennessee with first-hand accounts from people involved in those efforts. Representing a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, the contributors include, among others, lawyers, academics, activists, religious leaders, and a former state supreme court justice.

Surprisingly, prior to this book, there has been no examination of capital punishment in Tennessee within the context of the larger national debate on the death penalty. While Tennessee has a death
penalty system similar to those of many other southern states, only six people have been executed in the state since then, despite the overwhelming concentration of executions in the South.

The book includes essays covering such topics as Governor Frank Clement's attempt to abolish the state's death penalty in the 1960s, the troubling questions raised by mental illness and capital
punishment, and coverage of several recent executions by Tennessee's newspapers. The authors of the chapters in the final section, "Rarely Heard Voices," include the father of a murder victim, four anonymous death row authors, Department of Correction officials, and the sisters of one of the men executed in the state. A provocative contribution to one of the signal debates of our time, this book illuminates the myriad ways in which the various forces involved in the controversy--from
history, politics, and culture to individuals and organizations--have collided, intersected, and coexisted in Tennessee.

"One fine day when the death penalty is abolished in Tennessee, we'll want to know how it happened. This book, edited by my good friends, Amy Sayward and Margaret Vandiver, will tell the story--in riveting detail."  —-Sister Helen Prejean

"The meaning of the admonition--four words most often forgotten,ignored or intentionally violated--seem so simple: 'Thou shall not kill.' Here nineteen essayists remind us that there have been those among us who understood the meaning--and who sought to give life to the law."—John
Seigenthaler

In Spanish

LIFE ISSUES FORUM
May 28, 2010
For Immediate Release
Shift to Pro-Life: The “New Normal”
By Deirdre A. McQuade
 
Last May I wrote how America is trending decidedly pro-life -- despite assertions to the contrary from abortion advocacy groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League. On May 14 of this year, Gallup announced the results of its annual poll on abortion with a striking headline: “The New Normal on Abortion: Americans More ‘Pro-Life’.” According to the survey, more Americans call themselves “pro-life” (47%) than consider themselves “pro-choice” (45%). Gallup explains its headline: “While the two-percentage-point gap is not significant, it represents the third consecutive time Gallup has found more Americans taking the pro-life than pro-choice position on this measure since May 2009, suggesting a real change in public opinion.” Hence, pro-life is “the new normal.”

Gallup’s demographic analysis shows that the trend remarkably holds true across all age and gender groups. Building on last year’s trend, both men and women are more likely to identify as pro-life, with a more noticeable change among women since 2008. While all age groups have become more pro-life, pro-life young adults (18-29) and those aged 50-64 have shown more significant shifts. Pro-life respondents jumped from 42% of young adults in 2007-2008 to 47% in 2009-2010, surpassing pro-choice respondents (now at only 45%). A separate analysis released by Gallup on March 12 also shows that support for making abortion generally illegal is growing fastest among young adults.

When you dig beneath the labels people identify with, it is even more evident that America has become pro-life. The same survey shows that half (50%) of those surveyed say abortion is “morally wrong,” but that doesn’t mean the other half find it acceptable. Only 38% say that it is “morally acceptable,” while the remaining 12% provide no answer or say they don’t know.

Even more significantly, when you ask about abortion’s legality, a total of 73% think that abortion should be either illegal under all circumstances (19%) or legal only under certain circumstances (54%). Only 24% think abortion should be legal under any circumstance. Thus fewer than one in four agree with the current status of abortion law under Roe v. Wade, which allows abortion virtually on demand – in every state and territory – throughout the nine months of pregnancy.

These trends are encouraging, and give lie to the accusation that the pro-life position is “fringe” or even extreme. But the figures remain sobering. Clearly we have a long way to go in helping Americans understand that abortion is wrong because it is a direct attack against innocent, defenseless children in the womb. It is never an answer to the challenges women and their families face. We also have a long way to go in helping our families, parishioners, classmates, and neighbors embrace alternatives to abortion – and to seek forgiveness and receive the abundant mercy of God when abortion has been chosen.
           
It is time to be boldly and lovingly pro-life – not just because our numbers are strong, but because life is always the right choice for babies, their families, and our world.
 
 
Deirdre A. McQuade is Assistant Director for Policy & Communications at the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. For more information on the bishops’ pro-life activities, please visit www.usccb.org/prolife.

Four Possible Tennessee Executions in 2010
Though much attention is currently focused on the case of Gaile Owens whose execution date in set for September 28, 2010, the state of Tennessee is seeking to set execution dates for at least three other inmates in 2010 and possibly more.

The Tennessee Attorney General has requested an execution date be set for Stephen West, convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Wanda Romines and for the rape and murder of her daughter, Shelia, in Union County in 1986. West's defense team argued that he was present when the murders occurred but that a 17-year-old co-worker--a classmate of Shelia's--actually committed the crimes. West came within hours of execution in 2001 when he refused to file federal appeals but later changed his mind and signed the papers requesting a stay. On Monday, West's attorneys asked the Tennessee Supreme Court not to set an execution date and that his sentence be commuted to life in prison. His attorneys believe that West suffers from a mental illness and also state that he was severely abused as a child.

The Attorney General has also requested an execution date be set for Billy Irick, convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old Knoxville girl he had been baby-sitting. Irick's attorneys have asked the Tennessee Supreme Court not to set an execution date for Irick because of his long-standing mental illness, an illness whose symptoms were evident prior to the murder. Irick has been granted an extension to respond to the state's request that he be executed.

And, a request by the state to set an execution date for E.J. Harbison of Chattanooga is expected soon.

TADP will provide more information on these cases through our website in the next weeks. We are currently working to get case summaries together, including actions that you can take. Please check under the "Cases" heading to learn more.

If these executions go forward, it will mark the first time the state has executed this many inmates in a 12-month period in more than 50 years. Tennessee did not resume executions until the year 2000 after 40 years without a single execution. Now, as the death penalty is losing favor nationally with three states recently repealing the death penalty and others making strides towards abolition, Tennessee is moving toward more executions.

Urge Congress to Extend Jobless Benefits and Promote Long-Term Job Growth

WHAT:  This week, Congress will vote on the "American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act" (HR 4213).  This legislation will provide supports to dislocated workers and promote long-term job growth. 
 
ACTION NEEDED: Email your Senators and Representative TODAY and ask them to:
• Extend jobless benefits including expanded Unemployment Insurance (UI) and COBRA subsidies through the end of 2010;
• Extend the TANF Emergency Fund for one year;
• Fund  youth summer job programs;
• Capitalize the National Housing Trust Fund; and
• Promote job growth in local communities.

BACKGROUND:
UI and COBRA: While Congress has passed several short-term extensions of expanded UI and COBRA subsidies, they have failed to pass a long-term fix. The current extension expires at the end of May. Congress must not let these benefits lapse again and should take immediate action to sufficiently fund UI and subsidized COBRA coverage through the end of 2010. With the national unemployment rate at 9.9 percent, these federal programs, which unemployed workers can access after they have exhausted the 26 weeks of state benefits, are critically important.
 
TANF Emergency Fund: Without Congressional action, the TANF Emergency Fund will run out on September 30, 2010. During this critical time, states are using the TANF Emergency Fund to develop initiatives to help more low-income families find training and employment opportunities. The TANF Emergency Fund needs to be extended for another year so that states can continue to meet the needs of low-income families during these difficult economic times.
 
Congress created the TANF Emergency Fund in 2009 as part of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".  This program provided $5 billion in emergency funding to states to help create employment opportunities for low-income families, provide cash assistance to needy families, and/or provide one-time emergency benefits for families in need.
 
Youth Summer Jobs Program: The youth unemployment rate is at an all-time high, holding steady at 25 percent.  Congress must take action to provide job opportunities for young people, especially those hit by extreme levels of unemployment.       
 
National Housing Trust Fund: The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) was created in the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" to provide much needed housing opportunities for those with the lowest incomes. An investment of $1 billion into the NHTF will support the immediate construction of 10,000 rental homes, creating new construction jobs and up to 4,000 new jobs in ongoing operations.
 
 
Our privacy policy has changed.  To view our current policy, click here.

In this Update:
Call to Action: Gaile Owens'
State Budget Update
Call to Action: Immigration Issues

Call to Action:
Dear Catholic Advocacy Network,
Gaile Owens’ execution has been set for September 28, 2010 by the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Only the Governor is able to commute her sentence to life in prison. I am not writing to you suggesting you study Owens' case to find her innocent or rightfully convicted.  She herself has not denied her role in her husband’s death.

I am writing to ask you to write the Governor of Tennessee and ask that another life not be taken.  We are guided by our belief that every person has an inalienable right to life, because each human being is made in the image and likeness of God, who alone is the absolute Lord of life from its beginning until its end (cf. The Book of Genesis 1:26-28).

We acknowledge that the subject of capital punishment is controversial and emotional. All murders are violent and shocking. They all stir emotions of revulsion and anger.  We grieve for the victims of murder, for the brutalization and loss of life. We affirm that the state has the duty to punish criminals and to prevent the repetition or occurrence of crime. We believe that greater efforts must be made to bring the criminal to repentance and rehabilitation. We believe that our society is sufficiently developed to protect itself and to redress the injustice caused by the criminal without resorting to the use of the death penalty.  One alternative is life without possibility of parole. Proponents of capital punishment assert that those who take the life of another should be punished in kind. This “eye for an eye mentality” underestimates the gravity of interminable confinement.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church acknowledges the right of public authorities to impose criminal punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense, “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.  If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.”  Pope John Paul II  stated that in today's world cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”  (The Gospel of Life, 56).

We are asking that you will take just a short time and express your belief to Governor Bredesen that the death penalty is not for the greater good and ask that he commute Owens’ sentence to one of life without parole.  The Gospel mandates that we “love our enemies and pray for those who have harmed us.”

Peace be with you,
TN Catholic Public Policy Commission

State Budget Update:
The legislature will be focusing on the the budget this week along with a few bills. The Govenor has recommended one budget the Lt. Gov another. One thing we wanted to point out was the passage of the hospital coverage fee . The budget was greatly helped when the TN Hospital Association offered the hospital coverage fee and it was passed. Each of you who came for Cathoic Day on the Hill, made a call or sent an email played a part in helping this to pass. To recap what this did, the fee will replace $ 659 million dollars in combined state and federal monies to TennCare. This will keep several of the state’s hospitals from closing. As well as save many persers who are on TennCare. Listed below are several budget cut proposal that will effect the children in TN if passed.

Line 94:  Moves TennCare-Perinatal Outreach Grants from recurring to non-recurring. These funds support five perinatal centers that assure pregnant women and newborns have access to an appropriate level of care through direct service provision or consultation with other hospitals about high-risk pregnant women and newborns. These programs help reduce infant mortality. At least these funds are retained in non-recurring, but recurring would be better.

Line 101:  DCS – Reduce funding for Needs Assessments $ 2,370,100.
Eliminates funding for contracts for home study services to develop adoptive homes for hard to place children in state custody ($ 1 M). There is currently one contract per region, and these are designed to move children out of foster care and into adoptive homes more quickly.
Cuts funding approximately in half for contracts to support relative caregivers ($ 1,370,100) who are caring for children as an alternative to state custody. There is currently one contract per region, and the result could be more children in custody as low income relatives are unable to care for them without assistance.

Line 106:  TennCare – Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination closed January 1, 2011.
Eliminates state funded women’s health program (ca. $ 2.2 M) designed to help reduce infant mortality which funds an evidence-based centering pregnancy program and the Tennessee Intervention with Pregnant Smokers program to reduce smoking by pregnant women in East Tennessee.  Elimination of these programs is likely to increase the number of low-birth-weight babies and infant mortality.
Eliminates funding for infant mortality reduction (ca. $ 1.1 M) that matches Medicaid dollars at the FMAP rate for the Fetal Infant Mortality Review to identify causes of and prevent infant mortality, and the Tennessee Initiative on Perinatal Quality Care to improve outcomes for low-birth-weight and high risk babies.
Eliminates funding for Centers of Excellence across the state (ca. $ 1.2 M) that matches Medicaid dollars at the FMAP rate.  The Centers of Excellence provide evaluations and consultation services for children who have serious behavioral problems, provide training for the implementation of evidence-based trauma-focused cognitive therapy services for children who have been victims of child abuse.  They also provide evaluations and consultation services to the juvenile courts and are part of a major effort to improve mental health evaluations and services for children involved with the juvenile courts.
Staff at GOCCC funding is approximately $ 600,000 matched  50-50 with Medicaid dollars.  They coordinate GOCCC functions.

Line 102: GA – Oversight Committees: Eliminates all General Assembly oversight committees, which would include the Select Committee on Children and Youth. The Select Committee is very important in bringing together members of the Senate and House and provides important research, oversight and leadership on children’s issues in the General Assembly.

The Catholic Public Policy Commission Strongly Opposes SB1141
Contact your Senator TODAY at: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/senate/members/
Ask them to vote NO AND OPT Your County OUT of the bill!
Here's Why:

Catholic Social Teachings: Solidarity: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological difference.  We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.  Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world.  At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.  Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want to peace, work for justice.”  The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers.  Our love for all our brothers and sisters demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.  

Immigration Law is extremely complex requiring specialized knowledge and expertise.  There are dozens of different types of lawful status.  It is important to note that people do not carry their citizenship or legal documents on them.  Immigration is a federal responsibility.  We need the Federal Immigration Reform!

Immigration work diverts scarce law enforcement resources away from the core mission and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies.  Local Law Enforcement officers should not get involved with the enforcement of federal immigration law.  Local involvement in the federal immigration law can erode the trust between the community and the local law enforcement agencies. Local involvement in federal immigration law undermines the building of strong, inclusive communities.

The bill does not define “reasonable effort” to review documents in the possession of the person.  What does that mean?  It is too vague and leaves too much discretion in the hands of the jail staff/officers.  This type of legislation can foster and/or lead to racial profiling of defendants who look or sound foreign unless they are implemented in a non-discriminatory way.  

This bill is written to apply to every person that is arrested for any offense and is confined.  That means that jail staff/officers must review documents of every person arrested and confined; they cannot be selective. And only review those documents of people that appear foreign to them.  If they do so they will be violating both federal and state laws and will likely be sued and have to defend their practices in court.

FROM THE VATICAN
To Christians and Buddhists:
Respect for All Life Begins with Respect for Human Life
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue wished, "Dear Buddhist friends" a "Happy Feast of Vesakh" (the commemoration of the major events in the life of Buddha) and urged a greater witness by both Christians and Buddhists to lives "that find meaning not in having more but in being more." He noted that, "Our responsibility to protect nature springs, in fact, from our respect for one another; it comes from the law inscribed in the hearts of all men and women. Consequently, when human ecology is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits." Read Cardinal Tauran's statement here.

FOR REFLECTION
International Adaptation Assistance Is a Moral Matter
Fr. Peter Henriot of the Zambia-Malawi Province of the Society of Jesus gave an impassioned speech at Creighton University about the importance of practicing solidarity with the people in Africa. He said: "Climate change [is] currently being experienced in Africa at this moment…[in Zambia] where the rains usually start by the end of October, but this year well into December … No, it's not the Zambians that have caused that climate change; it is the lifestyle and industrial patterns of the people of North America, of Europe, and increasingly of China. Unless you quickly and forcibly address that fact here in the United States, the people of Africa will suffer because of you." Watch a video of his presentation. Africa is also at the center of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services "Catholics Confront Global Poverty" initiative.

PROMOTE THE ST. FRANCIS PLEDGE!
Feast of St. Francis in May?
It is not too early to start planning in your parish or school for the Feast of St. Francis. The Covenant website already has a bucket of resources available for download. Begin discussions now with pastors and liturgists, principals, teachers, and youth ministers about promoting the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor this October 4 (a Monday).

FOR PARISHES AND RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS
June 1 is deadline for ENERGY STAR Congregation Award
2010 ENERGY STAR for Congregations Awards are given annually to U.S. congregations who have shown measured energy savings and have a story to tell. The 2010 ENERGY STAR Congregations Awards are open to any congregation, private school, or non-profit which has increased the energy efficiency of any of its facilities through energy management improvements during the last two years. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2010. For more information, visit the ENERGY STAR Congregations webpage at: www.energystar.gov/congregations and the application here.

STORY: ENERGY STAR MOTHERHOUSE
Sisters of St. Francis Achieves ENERGY STAR
The Sisters of Saint Francis' Assisi Heights motherhouse, in Rochester, MN earned the ENERGY STAR as one of the most energy efficient buildings in the city. Beginning with a renovation 5 years ago, an energy audit in 2008 identified more ways to conserve. Reducing their carbon footprint is part of the Corporate Stance of the Sisters of Saint Francis. Read more here.

ST. FRANCIS PLEDGE: ACT
National Bike to Work Month & Week
Reduce your carbon footprint this week by joining the National Bike to Work Week. Friday May 21 is the National Day and May is the National Month. For more information check out the the official website to find events in your area.

The Catholic Public Policy Commission Strongly Opposes SB1141
Contact your Senator TODAY at: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/senate/members/
Ask them to vote NO AND OPT Your County OUT of the bill!
Here's Why:

Catholic Social Teachings: Solidarity: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological difference. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want to peace, work for justice.” The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our brothers and sisters demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.

Immigration Law is extremely complex requiring specialized knowledge and expertise. There are dozens of different types of lawful status. It is important to note that people do not carry their citizenship or legal documents on them. Immigration is a federal responsibility. We need the Federal Immigration Reform!

Immigration work diverts scarce law enforcement resources away from the core mission and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies. Local Law Enforcement officers should not get involved with the enforcement of federal immigration law. Local involvement in the federal immigration law can erode the trust between the community and the local law enforcement agencies. Local involvement in federal immigration law undermines the building of strong, inclusive communities.

The bill does not define “reasonable effort” to review documents in the possession of the person. What does that mean? It is too vague and leaves too much discretion in the hands of the jail staff/officers. This type of legislation can foster and/or lead to racial profiling of defendants who look or sound foreign unless they are implemented in a non-discriminatory way.

This bill is written to apply to every person that is arrested for any offense and is confined. That means that jail staff/officers must review documents of every person arrested and confined; they cannot be selective. And only review those documents of people that appear foreign to them. If they do so they will be violating both federal and state laws and will likely be sued and have to defend their practices in court.

Election Administrators are not immigration experts nor officers! This is not sound public policy! It appears to violate individual's due process rights. This may have the consequences of leading to racial profiling of suspected non-citizens. You must be a citizen to register to vote so this bill IS NOT NECESSARY!

Catholic Advocacy Network: URGENT ACTION ALERT:
Tell Your Elected Officials to Oppose All English Only Driver's License Testing Legislation

As Catholics, we are compelled to raise our voices on behalf of those marginalized and whose God-given rights are not respected. This type of legislation fails to provide meaningful access to citizens and other individuals who are limited English proficient. Each of us has a right to live and act in accord with our God-given dignity, as well as a right to access to those things required for human decency.

We are called to work so that every person's dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomed as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family, which knows how to appreciate with discernment the diffrent cultures which comprise it.

The basic Right to Life implies and is linked to other human rights to the goods that every person needs to live and thrive. Unjust policies such as this type of legislation are serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to ACT.

We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Our Catholic committment to solidarity requires that we pursue justice and protect human rights.

This Legislation WILL be heard in the Senate Finace Ways and Means Committee this Tuesday April 27th at 1:00

Who to Contact:
We usually suggest only contacting your own elected officials but in this situation please contact via email the Senate Finance Ways and Mean Committee:

Senator Randy McNally: sen.randy.mcnally@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Douglas Henry: sen.douglas.henry@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Tim Burchett: sen.tim.burchett@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Diane Black: sen.diane.black@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Joe Haynes: sen.joe.haynes@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Roy Herron: sen.roy.herron@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Jim Kyle: sen.jim.kyle@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Mark Norris: sen.mark.norris@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Doug Overbey: sen.doug.overbey@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Bo Watson: sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov
Senator Jamie Woodson: sen.jamie.woodson@capitol.tn.gov

Talking Points:

• Supporting families should be a priority for economic, social and public policy. Limited English Proficient individuals and their families need to be able to drive to work, the grocery store, take their kids to school, or attend English classes. Businesses that depend on workers with limited English proficiency will lose valuable workers.
• This type of legislation harms both citizens and legal immigrants/residents.
• This type of legislation expects instant assimilation by newly arrived immigrants but that is not realistic. It completely ignores the day-to-day realities of hard working immigrants living in Tennessee. Immigrants want to learn English. Immigrants want to integrate into our society. However this takes time, especially given the long waitlists for English Language Learning classes. The development of English proficiency among non-English speaking immigrants today mirrors that of 19th and early 20th century immigration, when masses of Italian, German, and Eastern European immigrants came to America. While 1st generation, non-English speaking immigrants predictably have lower rates of English proficiency than native speakers, 91% of 2ndgeneration immigrants are fluent or near fluent English speakers. By the 3rd generation, 97% speak English fluently or near fluently.
• This type of legislation fails to provide meaningful access to individuals who are limited English proficient. Each of us has a right to live and act in accord with our God-given dignity, as well as a right to access to those things required for human decency—food and shelter, just treatment, education and employment, healthcare and housing. We are called to work so that every person’s dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomes as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family, which knows how to appreciate with discernment the different cultures, which comprise it.
• The basic right to life implies and is linked to other human rights to the goods that every person needs to live and thrive—including food, shelter, health care, education and meaningful work. Unjust policies, such as this legislation, are serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act. Opposition to evil prompts us to recognize our positive duty to contribute to the common good and act in solidarity with those in need. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Our Catholic commitment to solidarity requires that we pursue justice, eliminate racism, protect human rights, and seek peace.
• Any public safety rational for this type of legislation is undermined by the state’s current policies. When new residents (including non English speakers) move into the state, TN honors valid licenses from other states when issuing a TN license. For example: If a non-English speaker moves from Maryland to TN, they can show their valid Maryland license, take the vision exam and receive a TN license (according to the TN Driver Services Division website.)
Why does the Church care about immigration policies?
The Catholic Church has historically held a strong interest in immigration and how public policy affects immigrants seeking a new life in the United States. Based on Scriptural and Catholic social teachings, as well as her own experience as an immigrant Church in the United States, the Catholic Church is compelled to raise her voice on behalf of those who are marginalized and whose God-given rights are not respected. The Church has a responsibility to shine the message of God on this issue and help to build bridges between all parties so that an immigration system can be created that is just for all and serves the common good, including the legitimate security concerns of our nation.

Gospel Foundations
One need not look further than the life and words of Jesus Christ to understand that persons on the move—refugees, migrants, immigrants—-are special in the eyes of God:
• In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to welcome the stranger: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave e drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25-35)
• As we welcome the stranger into our midst, we welcome Christ Himself, for in the face of the migrant, immigrant, and refugee, we must see the face of Christ.
•In the Gospel of Luke, this is made clear in the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13-15), as they become witnesses to the Truth by welcoming the stranger, who is Christ.

Excerpts from Catholic Social Teachings
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. Ina society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of the Workers: The economy must serve people, not the other way around. If the dignity of work is to b protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property and to economic initiative.
Solidarity: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological difference. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want to peace, work for justice.” The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our brothers and sisters demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.

What Church Leaders are saying?
In his recent trip to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI has continued a positive message in relation to immigration and called on Americans “to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrow and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home. This, indeed, is what your fellow countrymen have done for generations. From the beginning, they have opened their doors to the tired, the poor, the ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ These are the people whom America has made her own.”
Pope John Paul II “Ecclesia in America” (January 23, 1999): In its history, America has experienced many immigrations, as waves of men and women came to its various regions in the hope of a better future… The Church is well aware of the problems created by this situation and is committed to spare no effort in developing her own pastoral strategy among these immigrant people, in order to help them settle in their new land and to foster a welcoming attitude among the local population, in the belief that a mutual openness will bring enrichment to all. Migrants should be met with a hospitable and welcoming attitude which can encourage them to become part of the Church's life, always with due regard for their freedom and their specific cultural identity.

VICTORY
SB 2686 - SEN. BLACK HB 2681 - REP. HILL
Abortion / Federal Healthcare Law

The State Senate has passed and sent to the governor legislation to prohibit taxpayer-funded coverage for abortion services in Tennessee associated with the federal healthcare law passed by Congress. The bill, Senate Bill 2686, prohibits any health care plan established pursuant to federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th United States Congress from offering coverage for abortion services.

HERE IS HOW THEY VOTED:
SENATE: Passed
Ayes...............................................27
Noes................................................3
Senators voting aye were: Barnes, Beavers, Black, Bunch, Burchett, Burks, Faulk, Finney L, Haynes, Henry, Herron, Jackson, Johnson, Kelsey, Ketron, Kyle, McNally, Norris, Overbey, Southerland, Stewart, Tate, Tracy, Watson, Woodson, Yager, Mr. Speaker Ramsey -- 27.
Senators voting no were: Ford, Harper, Marrero -- 3.

HOUSE: Passed
Ayes...............................................70
Noes...............................................23
Representatives voting aye were: Barker, Bass, Bell, Brooks H, Brooks K, Campfield, Carr, Casada, Cobb J, Cobb T, Coley, Curtiss, Dean, DeBerry J, Dennis, Dunn, Eldridge, Evans, Faulkner, Ferguson, Fincher, Fitzhugh, Floyd, Ford, Fraley, Hackworth, Halford, Harrison, Harwell, Hawk, Haynes, Hensley, Hill, Johnson C, Johnson P, Litz, Lollar, Lundberg, Lynn, Maddox, Maggart, Marsh, Matheny, Matlock, McCord, McCormick, McDaniel, McDonald, McManus, Montgomery, Mumpower, Naifeh, Niceley, Pitts, Ramsey, Rich, Roach, Rowland, Sargent, Shepard, Shipley, Swafford, Todd, Watson, Weaver, West, White, Winningham, Yokley, Mr. Speaker Williams -- 70.
Representatives voting no were: Armstrong, Borchert, Brown, Camper, DeBerry L, Favors, Gilmore, Hardaway, Harmon, Jones S, Jones U, Kernell, Miller, Moore, Odom, Pruitt, Richardson, Sontany, Stewart, Tidwell, Tindell, Towns, Turner J -- 23.

Dear Friends of Gaile,

As you know, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced on Monday (April 19) that it has denied the commutation request, filed on Friday, Feb. 5, on behalf of Gaile Owens. Gov. Phil Bredesen is now the only person who can decide to commute Gaile’s sentence of the death penalty to life in prison.

This morning, Gaile’s attorneys and supporters held a news conference to address the ruling. Among those in attendance were George Barrett, Gaile’s commutation attorney; Kelley Henry, Federal Public Defender; Pat and Gene Williams, Gaile’s friends and prison volunteers; singer/songwriter Marshall Chapman, Gaile’s longtime friend; and Pamela Sessions of the YWCA. Gaile’s son, Stephen Owens, also spoke and appealed to Gov. Bredesen to save his mother’s life.

We will post news articles that result from today’s event on the Friends of Gaile website, under “News,” as they become available.

Petition – Your Help Is Needed

The petition to commute Gaile’s sentence is just shy of 3,000 names. Please take a moment to contact your friends and family and remind them to sign the petition if they haven’t done so already. It’s important that we get as many signatures as possible, as quickly as possible. The petition can be found on our website, www.friendsofgaile.com .

In addition, please make your voice heard by calling or writing Gov. Phil Bredesen. Visit the “Learn More” section of the website for more information about what you can do to show your support. You can become a fan of the "Friends of Gaile Owens" Facebook page in order to see regular updates about the case (www.facebook.com/supportgaile).

Gaile is in good spirits and is buoyed by the outpouring of concern. She is grateful for your friendship and support during this time.

Thank you,

Friends of Gaile Owens
www.friendsofgaile.com

The National Catholic Bioethics Center
6399 Drexel Road
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Tel. 215-877-2660
Fax. 215-877-2688
www.ncbcenter.org

Bioethics and Public Policy Report

The National Scene: In response to the enacted federal Health Care Reform legislation, a number of states are entertaining legislation to block abortion coverage in the Exchanges that are to be made available in their states.

1. • A US Court of Appeals is hearing a challenge to the legality of President Obama’s policy to allow tax dollar support of embryonic stem cell research. Federal law prohibits public funding of research that involves the destruction of human embryos.
2. • There is an urgent need for comments on the American Nurses Association’s draft Position Statement on Forgoing Nutrition and Hydration. See: http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=482. These comments are needed by April 28, 2010. The State of Conscience/Religious Liberty: A New York community college rescinded its prohibition against a pro-life student’s free speech. The student was represented by the Alliance Defense Fund.
3. • A District Court upheld the decision by the US Centers for Disease Control to lay-off a counselor for the manner in which she referred, to another counselor, a client seeking counseling for a same-sex relationship.
4. • The Michigan House passed a bill mandating that hospitals administer emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault.
5. • The Archdiocese of Baltimore has filed a federal law suit against the restriction of religious liberty and free speech imposed by the City of Baltimore, which is requiring the pregnancy counseling centers to post signs stating that they do not refer for contraception or abortions.
6. • On July 1, the Idaho Freedom of Conscience for Health Care Professionals Act goes into effect. Conscience protections for issues pertaining to abortifacients, assisted suicide, and embryonic stem cell research will be secured.
7. • The State of Marriage: The USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage has an excellent Web site with various resources. See www.usccb.org/defenseofmarriage. • A Pennsylvania court refused to grant a divorce to a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts, citing Pennsylvania statutes’ non- recognition of same-sex marriage, also noting that the federal Defense of Marriage Act impacts the application of the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause.
8. • However, a civil union legislative proposal has been filed in the Pennsylvania legislature.
9. • An Arkansas judge has overturned the will of the people, as expressed in a ballot initiative of 2008 stating that adopting parents are to be married.
10. • State by State: The Kansas Legislature passed legislation to enforce restrictions on late term abortions, which the Kansas Bishops urged the governor to sign into law.
11. • However, the governor vetoed the bill.
12. • The Missouri Senate voted to require improved informed consent for women seeking abortion, including the opportunity to view a fetal ultrasound.
13. • Similar bills, including a bill to prevent coercion for abortions and a bill to prevent “wrongful birth” lawsuits, are headed for the desk of the Oklahoma governor for signature.
14. • The 1995 Illinois parental notification act remains stayed as the ACLU
    Defending the dignity of the human person in health care and the life sciences since 1972
    continues its appeal of a court dismissal of their challenge of the law.
15. • The ACLU is challenging through the judicial system the Nevada personhood amendment initiative, now headed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
16. • Asimilarinitiativehasreceivedsufficient signatures necessary for a ballot vote in Mississippi.
17. • A recent Oregon state report of the implementation of their assisted suicide provisions demonstrates that over the past three years only two of 168 patients who died by assisted suicide were referred for psychiatric evaluation, to determine if depression was the source of their requests to be assisted to die.
18. • The Michigan Senate passed a bill which would prevent the sale of human eggs.
19. • Recent Good News: The Nebraska Legislature passed three bills: one preventing late term abortions (now signed into law),
20. • another to prevent coercion of those seeking an abortion, as well as a bill requiring evaluation for physical or psychological risk factors that could led to problems from the abortion (also signed into law).
21. • The Tennessee governor signed into law legislation preventing coerced abortions.22 • The Illinois Legislature tabled a bill which would have made access to abortion, paid for by taxpayer dollars, a fundamental right.
22. • Oklahoma’s Governor signed into law a bill protecting the consciences of health care providers concerning abortion, a bill banning sex selection abortions, and a bill restricting the use of RU486.
23. • An attempt to rescind the California constitutional amendment protective of marriage failed to achieve the requisite ballot initiative signatures.
24. • Sharing Your Good News and Your Efforts: If there are public policy advocacy strategies which you wish to share with others please e-mail mhilliard@ncbcenter.org.
    Sharing of Resources: The web page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center is a significant resource in the realm of bioethics: www.ncbcenter.org. Also, bioethicists are on call twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week, for consultation by calling 215- 877-2660.

In Spanish

LIFE ISSUES FORUM                                                   
April 16, 2010
For Immediate Release
Questions about Abortion in the new Health Care Law?
By Tom Grenchik

Since the recent passage of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” scores of people have been contacting the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with a multitude of questions, such as:

Does the new health care legislation actually provide federal funds for elective abortions?
Answer: Yes.
Can individuals be forced to pay for other people’s abortions even  if they are morally opposed?
Answer: Yes.
Are there new challenges to the consciences of individuals,employers and health care providers?
Answer: Yes.
Didn’t President Obama’s Executive Order fix the abortion and conscience problems that the bishops had raised about this legislation?
Answer: No.

For those interested in more in-depth answers, we offer callers a couple of helpful new resources developed by the bishops’ conference: a one-page fact sheet called “Abortion Funding in the New HealthCare Reform Act”: www.usccb.org/healthcare/Abortion-Funding-in-Health-Care-Law-4-12-10.pdf. a 9-page legal analysis of the abortion and conscience issues in the Act and President Obama’s subsequent Executive Order: www.usccb.org/healthcare/03-25-10Memo-re-Executive-Order-Final.pdf.

Then there are callers with tactical questions, like:

Weren’t the bishops just out to kill health care reform all along?   
Answer: No.
Haven’t the bishops just been over-reacting to abortion-related problems that weren’t really there?
Answer: No.
Can anything be done to fix these problems?
Answer: Yes.

For many, many months now the U.S. bishops have made statements and sent numerous letters to Congress with the message that our country  needs reform that makes health care available to everybody, while  killing nobody (www.usccb.org/healthcare/official_documents.shtml#releases ). The bishops have long supported reform, but they made it very  clear that no matter how much perceived good might be accomplished, such legislation must not promote a fundamental moral evil or force  people to participate in that evil. Health care reform should not  have become the vehicle for expanding abortion or challenging conscience protection. It was not the bishops who forced the issue, but congressional leaders themselves. They refused to apply longstanding current policies on abortion funding and conscience  rights to this legislation, all the while claiming that abortions were not being funded. When it became clearer that congressional leaders would not back down, the bishops’ message to Congress was unambiguous as well. Just before the final vote, the bishops sent one more appeal to Congress  that was introduced with a USCCB press release entitled:   “Bishops to House of Representatives: Fix Flaws or Vote No on Health Reform Bi ll.” It stated: “House leadership … won’t even try to address  the serious problems on abortion funding… [and are] ignoring conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants”   (www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-051.shtml). Ignoring the plea of the bishops and the large majority of Americans  who oppose abortion funding in health care reform,  Congress has now  enacted the largest expansion of abortion funding in our nations’ hi story, since Roe v. Wade.  Assurances that abortion funding would be  removed and consciences would be thoroughly protected have turned out to be empty promises. But our efforts are far from over. Now we must go back to all the legislators who stated that the abortion and conscience problems were either not there, or would be fixed at another time, because that time is now! We must fix this “deeply flawed law”, as Cardinal George called it, and we’ll need a strong bi-partisan effort to do so. It will require the active engagement of Catholics and other constituents demanding this congressional  response. Correcting  this law, so it will truly uphold everyone’s rights to life and health, will take much prayer and hard work, but the stakes have never been higher.

Tom Grenchik is Executive Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Go to www.usccb.org/prolife  to learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities.

USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat

Another Victory! HB2681 Passes!

HB2681 By Hill: Health Care - As introduced, prohibits coverage for abortion services under any health care plan through an exchange required to be established in this state pursuant to federal health care reform legislation. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4; Title 37, Chapter 10, Part 3; Title 39, Chapter 15, Part 2; Title 56; Title 68 and Title 71.

Please tell the Bill Sponsors and Representatives voting Yes: THANK YOU!

Prime Sponsors: *Hill ,Fincher, Maggart, Halford, Campfield, Haynes, Evans, Brooks K, Dean, Johnson P, Watson, Brooks H, Sargent, Faulkner, Niceley, Matheny, Harrison, McDaniel, Roach, Fraley, Ramsey, Mumpower, Johnson C, Lynn, Hensley, Todd, Swafford, Carr, Bell, Rich, Casada, Floyd, Dennis, Lundberg, White, Lollar, Cobb J, McManus, Coley, Matlock, Eldridge, Shipley, Ford , Hawk

FLOOR VOTE: PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/12/2010  Passed
          Ayes...............................................70
          Noes...............................................23

Representatives voting aye were: Barker, Bass, Bell, Brooks H, Brooks K, Campfield, Carr, Casada, Cobb J, Cobb T, Coley, Curtiss, Dean, DeBerry J, Dennis, Dunn, Eldridge, Evans, Faulkner, Ferguson, Fincher, Fitzhugh, Floyd, Ford, Fraley, Hackworth, Halford, Harrison, Harwell, Hawk, Haynes, Hensley, Hill, Johnson C, Johnson P, Litz, Lollar, Lundberg, Lynn, Maddox, Maggart, Marsh, Matheny, Matlock, McCord, McCormick, McDaniel, McDonald, McManus, Montgomery, Mumpower, Naifeh, Niceley, Pitts, Ramsey, Rich, Roach, Rowland, Sargent, Shepard, Shipley, Swafford, Todd, Watson, Weaver, West, White, Winningham, Yokley, Mr. Speaker Williams

Representatives voting no were: Armstrong, Borchert, Brown, Camper, DeBerry L, Favors, Gilmore, Hardaway, Harmon, Jones S, Jones U, Kernell, Miller, Moore, Odom, Pruitt, Richardson, Sontany, Stewart, Tidwell, Tindell, Towns, Turner J

English-only group targets Bridgestone Nashville Business Journal
- by Brandon Gee Staff Writer

A Virginia advocacy organization linked to hate groups has squared off against an international giant and darling of the Middle Tennessee business community in the latest round of debate over English-only legislation.

Arlington, Va.-based ProEnglish sent an e-mail to supporters last week blasting Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas Inc. for opposing a law that would require all driver’s license exams to be conducted in English. The e-mail argues the tire company is opposing legislation “that strengthens road safety and saves taxpayers money.”

But money is not the issue. And it’s more than just a fight over driver’s exams, business leaders say.

The four largest chambers of commerce in the state oppose the law, defining the battle as one of image and ideology rather than public safety. Proponents describe the legislation as an effort to keep roads safe, while opponents contend the bill is aimed at gaining a foothold for more foreign-language restrictions.

Bridgestone Americas, the U.S. affiliate of the larger Japanese company, employs about 3,500 people in Tennessee.

The company, and the state business community in general, believe House Bill 242/Senate Bill 63 is unfriendly to businesses.

Eddie V. Garcia, an Hispanic Nashville musician lobbying in favor of the legislation, called Bridgestone an “un-American” company in a blog post last week. Both his post and the ProEnglish e-mail mentioned Bridgestone Americas Executive Vice President Christine Karbowiak by name and provided contact information.

The move has created a firestorm among business leaders and organizations, including the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

“When we’re trying to grow our economy and we’re trying to add jobs and put people back to work, this sends the wrong message,” said Floyd Shechter, owner and operator of Donelson-based commercial real estate investment firm SmartSpace. “It’s a message that doesn’t say we’re a
warm, inviting and inclusive community for business.”

Shechter is treasurer of the Nashville for All of Us committee that helped defeat a separate English-only initiative in Nashville in 2009 that would have required all government business to be conducted solely in English.

ProEnglish gave $82,500, or 92 percent of the money in support of the effort. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., has tied ProEnglish founder John Tanton to hate groups including the Ku Klux Klan.

“The intervention of this Virginia group — again — into our community is pretty appalling,” Nashville chamber President and CEO Ralph Schulz said.

Schulz said ProEnglish is trying to advance its own agenda at the expense of Tennessee’s economy.

Pro-English advocates were apparently annoyed by Bridgestone after state committees approved an amendment they thought would appease business concerns by exempting foreign executives who are in the country legally for specific purposes.

Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfeesboro, who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, said the law is necessary for safety reasons, and drivers who can’t understand road signs and message boards pose a risk to other drivers. He also said the law would provide a powerful incentive for
immigrants to learn English.

“I don’t care what country you come from,” Ketron said. “I don’t care what color you are. All I ask is that if you are here, you assimilate and you learn the language.”

Tennessee currently offers driver’s license exams in English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean, and is testing a German version of the test. Nine states have English-only tests, according to media reports, and Tennessee joins seven other states that are considering proposals this year.

Ketron said he hadn’t seen Garcia’s blog post or the e-mail from ProEnglish, but said he wouldn’t call Bridgestone an un-American company.

This isn’t the first time the debate has turned ugly. Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, told a Volkswagen lobbyist that his comments spoke “closely to blackmail” at a March 9 hearing. Volkswagen, which is building a $1 billion plant in Chattanooga, has raised concerns similar
to Bridgestone’s.

“Volkswagen values diversity and inclusion,” spokeswoman Jill Bratina said in a statement e-mailed to the Nashville Business Journal. “We do not oppose this bill because we need the tests in German, but because it is contradictory to the principles we hold important.”

In a prepared response to the calls and e-mails she has received, Karbowiak states that Bridgestone Americas is concerned “this legislation sends a very negative message to the many existing international businesses in Tennessee.”

Karbowiak also refuted the claim that Bridgestone was endangering Tennessee motorists.

“By limiting the languages by which the licensing process is conducted, we limit the state’s ability to ensure that those on the road are safe and educated drivers,” she said.

In Spanish



LIFE ISSUES FORUM                                                                  
April 1, 2010
For Immediate Release
Bruised, but Not Broken
By Deirdre A. McQuade

The pro-life movement recently suffered a discouraging setback during efforts to provide life-affirming health care to millions of uninsured Americans. The Catholic bishops and others fought hard for many months to retain conscience rights and the longstanding ban against federal funding of elective abortions. The final health care reform law, passed narrowly against the bishops’ opposition, fails to meet these widely-supported, fundamental moral requirements.

If not changed, the law will, for the first time in over 30 years, subsidize abortions throughout the nine months of pregnancy – for any reason – and force Americans to be complicit in the direct taking of innocent life. Many who conscientiously object to abortion will be forced to pay for others’ abortions through their insurance premiums or taxes.

No amount of good in the new law will ever justify the moral evil of facilitating the destruction of precious human life. Not “precious” in just a poetic, pastel, feel-good sense as in the popular “Precious Moments” figurines, and not “precious” like works of art that command a lot of money, but “precious” in the ultimate sense: being of such inestimable value that it cannot be put on a scale and traded off for other goods – even other goods honoring the dignity of the human person. God creates persons to live eternally and so we cannot and must not be put on a cost-benefit scale. The deliberate destruction of innocent human life at its most defenseless stage is never, under any circumstances, justifiable.

The debate over how best to improve and expand health care services to all should never have hinged on the issue of abortion funding. Abortion is not health care, because killing is not healing. Inclusion of abortion was a huge and ultimately tragic obstacle to authentic reform that would honor all principles of Catholic social teaching.

The bishops repeatedly called for principled reform that puts the needs of the poor and the unborn first. Commenting on the proposed bill, Cardinal Francis George, as president of the bishops’ conference, called abortion funding “too high a price” for much-needed reform. The Catholic faithful and our pro-life friends agreed. Since the debate began, over a million e-mails were sent to Congress through www.usccb.org/action alone. Unfortunately, despite our prayers, countless phone calls, faxes, and letters, our voices were not heeded by those in power.

What do we do now? As a movement, we are bruised, but not broken. Our hope in the Resurrection is real as we seek the grace to re-group and unite in efforts to protect all human life from conception to natural death. We will work to fix the serious problems in the new health care law. The Hyde Amendment, which bans federal abortion funding through the appropriations process, must be defended. States are also exploring legislation to exclude abortion from new health coverage within their borders.

Abortion rates go up when the government funds abortions. So we need to work twice as hard to reduce the number of abortions, help pregnant women feel free to choose life, educate the public on the physical and emotional consequences of abortion, and share God’s mercy with those women and men who have an abortion in their past. Finally, we must recommit ourselves to prayer for our nation, that those in authority will use their power to defend the defenseless: unborn children and all who are vulnerable at any stage of life.


Deirdre A. McQuade is Assistant Director for Policy & Communications at the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  For more information on the bishops’ pro-life activities, please visit www.usccb.org/prolife.



USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat

The U.S. Department of Education has just released a Blueprint for Reform and Congress is holding hearings on reauthorization. The House Education and Labor Committee is encouraging stakeholders in this legislation to send their priorities to eseacomments@mail.house.gov by Friday, March 26, 2010. We urge the Catholic school community to use this e-mail opportunity to convey the importance of addressing the needs of students and teachers in private schools when they revise this legislation.
Many Catholic schools have found accessing services for their students and teachers to be very complicated and frustrating. Thus we encourage you to address the following issues in the individual e-mails we ask you to send: equitable participation by students in private schools has been a requirement in ESEA since it was first passed in 1965.
in recent years funds generated by students in private schools have been diverted to public school programs in which our students cannot participate, such as Supplemental Education Services and All School Improvement programs.
ESEA should be changed so that the proportional share of funds to serve nonpublic school students and teachers in private schools will be based on the total allocation of a program prior to a school district setting aside funds which only public schools can use.
Many of you have examples of how your students and teachers do not receive the full benefit of the federal funds the students generate. Please don't hesitate to provide examples of this in your e-mail message.

Please distribute this message as widely as possible and urge recipients to send comments before March 26th. Congress needs to hear from us!

Sincerely,
Marie Powell
mpowell@usccb.org

Sr. Suzanne Bellenoit, SSJ
sbellenoit@usccb.org

TENNCARE BUDGET

Things at the legislature are always changing and developing and it is a hurry up and wait business. TNCPPC is greatly concerned that many people are going to suffer greatly with the cuts to TNCare being so deep.

Attached you will be able to see the budget for TNCare as presented to the legislature. The link will take you to an article explaining how the state may be able to keep some funding that usually goes to the Federal government. This could help but it won't be enough without relief from other areas as well.

Budget Cut Presentation
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2010/3/19/tenncare_lightens_cuts

BISHOPS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
FIX FLAWS OR VOTE NO ON HEALTH REFORM BILL

House leadership ignoring pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation Won’t even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding Ignoring conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops urged the House of Representatives to fix flaws in health care legislation or vote against its passage in a March 20 letter to House members. The letter was signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair on the Committee on Migration. The letter follows.

Dear Representative:
For decades, the United States Catholic bishops have supported universal health care. The Catholic Church teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential for human life and dignity. Our community of faith provides health care to millions, purchases health care for tens of thousands and addresses the failings of our health care system in our parishes, emergency rooms and shelters. This is why we as bishops continue to insist that health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all is a moral imperative and urgent national priority.

We are convinced that the Senate legislation now presented to the House of Representatives on a “take it or leave it” basis sadly fails this test and ought to be opposed. Why do we take this position, when we have a long record of support for health care reform? Our fundamental objections can be summarized in two points:

1. Health care reform must protect life and conscience, not threaten them. The Senate bill extends abortion coverage, allows federal funds to pay for elective abortions (for example, through a new appropriation for services at Community Health Centers that bypasses the Hyde amendment), and denies adequate conscience protection to individuals and institutions. Needed health care reform must keep in place the longstanding and widely supported federal policy that neither elective abortion nor plans which include elective abortion can be paid for with federal funds. Simply put, health care reform ought to continue to apply both parts of the Hyde amendment, no more and no less. The House adopted this policy by a large bipartisan majority, establishing the same protections that govern Medicaid, SCHIP, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and other federal health programs.

Despite claims to the contrary, the status quo prohibits the federal government from funding or facilitating plans that include elective abortion. The Senate bill clearly violates this prohibition by providing subsidies to purchase such plans. The House bill provided that no one has to pay for other people’s abortions, while this Senate bill does not. While the Senate provides for one plan without abortion coverage in each exchange, those who select another plan in an exchange to better meet the special needs of their families will be required to pay a separate mandatory abortion fee into a fund exclusively for abortions. This new federal requirement is a far more direct imposition on the consciences of those who do not wish to pay for the destruction of unborn human life than anything currently in federal law.

It is not those who require that the Hyde Amendment be fully applied who are obstructing reform, since this is the law of the land and the will of the American people. Rather, those who insist on expanding federal participation in abortion, require people to pay for other people’s abortions, and refuse to incorporate essential conscience protections (both within and beyond the abortion context) are threatening genuine reform. With conscience protection as with abortion funding, our goal is simply to preserve the status quo.

2. Universal coverage should be truly universal. People should never be denied coverage because they can’t afford it, because of where they live or work, or because of where they come from and when they got here. The Senate bill would not only continue current law that denies legal immigrants access to Medicaid for five years, but also prohibit undocumented immigrants from buying insurance for their families in the exchanges using their own money. These provisions could leave immigrants and their families worse off, and also hurt the public health of our nation.

Now, after a year of divisive political combat, members of the House are told that they can advance health care reform only by adopting the Senate legislation as is, including these fundamental flaws. The House leadership is ignoring the pleas of pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation. Apparently they will not even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding, conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.
We are bishops, not politicians, policy experts or legislative tacticians. We are also pastors, teachers, and citizens. At this point of decision, we cannot compromise on basic moral principles. We can only urge -- and hope and pray -- that the House of Representatives will still find the will and the means to adopt health care reform that protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all. The legislation the House adopted, while not perfect, came closer to meeting these criteria. The Senate legislation simply does not meet them.

With deep regret, but clear in our moral judgment, we are compelled to continue to urge House members to oppose the Senate bill unless these fundamental flaws are remedied. At this critical moment, we urge Representatives to take the steps necessary to ensure that health care reform respects the life and dignity of all, from conception to natural death.
-
Keywords: abortion, conscience, immigrants, House of Representative, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Bishop William Murphy, Bishop John Wester, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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In all things charity
By Sister Mary Ann Walsh

The heat in the aftermath of passage of health care reform reveals the depth of feeling among those for and against the landmark bill that affects all Americans. Such heat, however, cannot justify the verbal and physical violence that has ensued.

If we needed health care because of the crisis affecting the sick, especially the weakest among us, we need even more a move toward civility, if not for our own betterment then at least for the betterment of our children.

Politics has become a kind of blood sport. News junkies over the weekend heard reports of crowds shouting racist remarks and individuals spitting at African American lawmakers, including John Lewis, who suffered violence years ago when he marched for Civil Rights. Surely he “and all of us “ has a right to expect that that chapter of despicable, racist violence long over.

We've seen reports of homes and offices of lawmakers vandalized and heard of death threats. Anonymous messages are being left on voicemails* I even got one from a nun, for goodness sake. If that isn't proof that we've gone astray I don't know what is.

The wonderfully unedited Web may share some blame as it gives free reign to those who say whatever suits their strategic purpose, truthful or not. Their presentations * usually anonymous * underscore a significant failing of the Web, lack of editors and accountability.

We've seen columnists write with vitriol as they demonize those with whom they disagree. There’s a viciousness which goes beyond what can be called acerbic writing. We need to address this climate.

The intolerance and incivility did not begin with legislation passed Sunday night. It is not unrelated to the divisions that exist in our country and, sadly, even in our church.

It starts with how we view others as enemies rather than as fellow travelers on the journey of life. It includes whether or not we’re willing to give another the benefit of the doubt, accepting that their intentions are good, even if their goals differ from ours.

In involves accepting the fact that each of us is a child of God and precious to Him and our brother or sister. It involves how we speak and terms for one another.

Last Tuesday, March 23, Cardinal Francis George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted the bishops’ disappointment that the health reform legislation did not include all they sought, especially adequate protection of rights of conscience and guarantees that federal funds would not go for abortion services. But he also noted that politicians on both sides of the aisle had worked nobly for the protection of life and decried those who would vilify them. Even in disappointment, the bishops were civil and generous. There position is worth emulating.

In 1959, Pope John XXIII, in his first encyclical, *On Truth, Unity and Peace, in a Spirit of Charity, quoted a maxim attributed to St. Augustine, *In essentials, unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity." In all things charity surely is the message we all need today. It's not a bad start to Holy Week.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh
Director of Media Relations
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th St., NE
Washington, DC 20017-1194
Ph 202-541-3201
Fx 202-541-3173
mwalsh@usccb.org

DATE: March 20, 2010 
FROM:  Sr. Mary Ann Walsh 
O:  202-541-3200
H:  301-587-4762 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

BISHOPS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
FIX FLAWS OR VOTE NO ON HEALTH REFORM BILL  
House leadership ignoring pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation
Won’t even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding
Ignoring conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops urged the House of Representatives to fix flaws in health care legislation or vote against its passage in a March 20 letter to House members. The letter was signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair on the Committee on Migration. The letter follows. 
Dear Representative:
For decades, the United States Catholic bishops have supported universal health care. The Catholic Church teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential for human life and dignity. Our community of faith provides health care to millions, purchases health care for tens of thousands and addresses the failings of our health care system in our parishes, emergency rooms and shelters. This is why we as bishops continue to insist that health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all is a moral imperative and urgent national priority.
We are convinced that the Senate legislation now presented to the House of Representatives on a “take it or leave it” basis sadly fails this test and ought to be opposed. Why do we take this position, when we have a long record of support for health care reform? Our fundamental objections can be summarized in two points:

1. Health care reform must protect life and conscience, not threaten them. The Senate bill extends abortion coverage, allows federal funds to pay for elective abortions (for example, through a new appropriation for services at Community Health Centers that bypasses the Hyde amendment), and denies adequate conscience protection to individuals and institutions. Needed health care reform must keep in place the longstanding and widely supported federal policy that neither elective abortion nor plans which include elective abortion can be paid for with federal funds. Simply put, health care reform ought to continue to apply both parts of the Hyde amendment, no more and no less. The House adopted this policy by a large bipartisan majority, establishing the same protections that govern Medicaid, SCHIP, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and other federal health programs. 

Despite claims to the contrary, the status quo prohibits the federal government from funding or facilitating plans that include elective abortion. The Senate bill clearly violates this prohibition by providing subsidies to purchase such plans. The House bill provided that no one has to pay for other people’s abortions, while this Senate bill does not. While the Senate provides for one plan without abortion coverage in each exchange, those who select another plan in an exchange to better meet the special needs of their families will be required to pay a separate mandatory abortion fee into a fund exclusively for abortions. This new federal requirement is a far more direct imposition on the consciences of those who do not wish to pay for the destruction of unborn human life than anything currently in federal law.
It is not those who require that the Hyde Amendment be fully applied who are obstructing reform, since this is the law of the land and the will of the American people. Rather, those who insist on expanding  federal participation in abortion, require people to pay for other people’s abortions, and refuse to incorporate essential conscience protections (both within and beyond the abortion context) are threatening genuine reform. With conscience protection as with abortion funding, our goal is simply to preserve the status quo.

2. Universal coverage should be truly universal. People should never be denied coverage because they can’t afford it, because of where they live or work, or because of where they come from and when they got here. The Senate bill would not only continue current law that denies legal immigrants access to Medicaid for five years, but also prohibit undocumented immigrants from buying insurance for their families in the exchanges using their own money. These provisions could leave immigrants and their families worse off, and also hurt the public health of our nation.

Now, after a year of divisive political combat, members of the House are told that they can advance health care reform only by adopting the Senate legislation as is, including these fundamental flaws. The House leadership is ignoring the pleas of pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation. Apparently they will not even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding, conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.
We are bishops, not politicians, policy experts or legislative tacticians. We are also pastors, teachers, and citizens. At this point of decision, we cannot compromise on basic moral principles. We can only urge -- and hope and pray -- that the House of Representatives will still find the will and the means to adopt health care reform that protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all. The legislation the House adopted, while not perfect, came closer to meeting these criteria. The Senate legislation simply does not meet them.
With deep regret, but clear in our moral judgment, we are compelled to continue to urge House members to oppose the Senate bill unless these fundamental flaws are remedied. At this critical moment, we urge Representatives to take the steps necessary to ensure that health care reform respects the life and dignity of all, from conception to natural death.
-
Keywords: abortion, conscience, immigrants, House of Representative, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Bishop William Murphy, Bishop John Wester, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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10-051 
SEC, DDS, USNEWSWIRE      

DATE: March 15, 2010

FROM: Don Clemmer

O: 202-541-3206
M: 260-580-1137

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESIDENT OF U.S. BISHOPS SAYS COST IS TOO HIGH, LOSS IS TOO GREAT FOR HEALTH CARE BILL NOT TO BE REVISED

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on the state of health care reform:

Statement by Cardinal Francis George, OMI

The Cost is too High; the Loss is too Great

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system. Their experience in health care and in Catholic parishes has acquainted them with the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions.

Throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion. These are the provisions of the long standing Hyde amendment, passed annually in every federal bill appropriating funds for health care; and surveys show that this legislation reflects the will of the majority of our fellow citizens. The American people and the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected.

However, the bishops were left disappointed and puzzled to learn that the basis for any vote on health care will be the Senate bill passed on Christmas Eve. Notwithstanding the denials and explanations of its supporters, and unlike the bill approved by the House of Representatives in November, the Senate bill deliberately excludes the language of the Hyde amendment. It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures. In so doing, it forces all of us to become involved in an act that profoundly violates the conscience of many, the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human family still waiting to be born.

What do the bishops find so deeply disturbing about the Senate bill? The points at issue can be summarized briefly.  The status quo in federal abortion policy, as reflected in the Hyde Amendment, excludes abortion from all health insurance plans receiving federal subsidies. In the Senate bill, there is the provision that only one of the proposed multi-state plans will not cover elective abortions – all other plans (including other multi-state plans) can do so, and receive federal tax credits. This means that individuals or families in complex medical circumstances will likely be forced to choose and contribute to an insurance plan that funds abortions in order to meet their particular health needs.

Further, the Senate bill authorizes and appropriates billions of dollars in new funding outside the scope of the appropriations bills covered by the Hyde amendment and similar provisions. As the bill is written, the new funds it appropriates over the next five years, for Community Health Centers for example (Sec. 10503), will be available by statute for elective abortions, even though the present regulations do conform to the Hyde amendment. Regulations, however, can be changed at will, unless they are governed by statute.

Additionally, no provision in the Senate bill incorporates the longstanding and widely supported protection for conscience regarding abortion as found in the Hyde/Weldon amendment. Moreover, neither the House nor Senate bill contains meaningful conscience protection outside the abortion context. Any final bill, to be fair to all, must retain the accommodation of the full range of religious and moral objections in the provision of health insurance and services that are contained in current law, for both individuals and institutions.

This analysis of the flaws in the legislation is not completely shared by the leaders of the Catholic Health Association. They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill. The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote. Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke.

What is tragic about this turn of events is that it needn’t have happened. The status quo that has served our national consensus and respected the consciences of all with regard to abortion is the Hyde amendment. The House courageously included an amendment applying the Hyde policy to its Health Care bill passed in November. Its absence in the Senate bill and the resulting impasse are not an accident. Those in the Senate who wanted to purge the Hyde amendment from this national legislation are obstructing the reform of health care.

This is not quibbling over technicalities. The deliberate omission in the Senate Bill of the necessary language that could have taken this moral question off the table and out of play leaves us still looking for a way to meet the President’s and our concern to provide health care for those millions whose primary care physician is now an emergency room doctor. As Pope Benedict told Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel H. Diaz when he presented his credentials as the United States government’s representative to the Holy See, there is “an indissoluble bond between an ethic of life and every other aspect of social ethics.”

Two basic principles, therefore, continue to shape the concerns of the Catholic bishops: health care means taking care of the health needs of all, across the human life span; and the expansion of health care should not involve the expansion of abortion funding and of polices forcing everyone to pay for abortions. Because these principles have not been respected, despite the good that the bill under consideration intends or might achieve, the Catholic bishops regretfully hold that it must be opposed unless and until these serious moral problems are addressed.
---

Keywords: USCCB, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, President, Cardinal Francis George, health care reform, Senate bill, abortion funding, Hyde Amendment, Stupak Amendment
# # # # #

10-043
Sec,DD,CNS,RNS,Crux

USCCB NATIONWIDE BULLETIN INSERT/ACTION ALERT
Stop Abortion Funding in Health Care Reform! Protect Conscience Ensure Affordable Health Coverage
Allow Immigrants to Purchase Private Health Insurance

As long-time advocates of health care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops continue to make the moral case that genuine health care reform must protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Health care reform should provide access to affordable and quality health care for all, and not advance a pro-abortion agenda in our country. Genuine health care reform is being blocked by those who insist on reversing widely supported policies against federal funding of abortion and plans which include abortion, not by those working simply to preserve these longstanding protections.
•    On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major health care reform that reaffirms the essential, longstanding and widely supported policy against using federal funds for elective abortions and includes positive measures on affordability and immigrants.
•    On December 24, the U.S. Senate rejected this policy and passed health care reform that requires federal funds to help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions. All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions through a separate payment solely to pay for abortion. And the affordability credits for very low income families purchasing private plans in a Health Insurance Exchange are inadequate and would leave families financially vulnerable.
•    Outside the abortion context, neither bill has adequate conscience protection for health care providers, plans or employers.
•    Congressional leaders are now trying to figure out how the rules of the House and Senate could allow the final passage of a modified bill that would satisfy disagreements between House and Senate versions.

ACTION: Contact your Representative and Senators today by e-mail, phone or FAX.
•    To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.usccb.org/action.
•    Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices. Contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.

MESSAGE – HOUSE:
“I am pleased that the House health care bill maintains the longstanding policy against federal funding of abortion. On the other hand, the provisions on abortion funding in the current un- amended Senate health care bill are seriously deficient and unacceptable. I urge you to work to uphold essential provisions against abortion funding, to include full conscience protection and to ensure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. I urge you to oppose any bill unless and until these criteria are met.”
 

MESSAGE – SENATE:
“I am deeply disappointed that the current un-amended Senate health care bill fails to maintain the longstanding policy against federal funding of abortion and does not include adequate protection for conscience. I urge you to support essential provisions against abortion funding, similar to those in the House bill. Include full conscience protection and ensure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. I urge you to oppose any bill unless and until these criteria are met.”
 

WHEN: Votes in the House and Senate are expected at any time. Act today!    Thank You!

Catholic Advocacy Network: URGENT ACTION ALERT: Tell Your Elected Officials to Oppose All English Only Driver's License Testing Legislation As Catholics, we are compelled to raise our voices on behalf of those marginalized and whose God-given rights are not respected.  This type of legislation fails to provide meaningful access to citizens and other individuals who are limited English proficient.  Each of us has a right to live and act in accord with our God-given dignity, as well as a right to access to those things required for human decency.  We are called to work so that every person's dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomed as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family, which knows how to appreciate with discernment the different cultures which comprise it. The basic Right to Life implies and is linked to other human rights to the goods that every person needs to live and thrive.  Unjust policies such as this type of legislation are serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to ACT.  We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.  Our Catholic commitment to solidarity requires that we pursue justice and protect human rights.

Who to Contact: We usually suggest only contacting your own elected officials but in this situation please contact via email or phone calls the House and Senate Transportation Committee members listed below. All phone numbers are 615 area code.  This type of legislation will be heard in both House and Senate Committees THIS TUESDAY. Senator    Tim  Barnes    741-2374    sen.tim.barnes@capitol.tn.gov Senator    Mae  Beavers    741-2421    sen.mae.beavers@capitol.tn.gov Senator    Andy  Berke    741-6682    sen.andy.berke@capitol.tn.gov         Senator    Lowe  Finney    741-1810    sen.lowe.finney@capitol.tn.gov         Senator    Dolores  Gresham    741-2368    sen.dolores.gresham@capitol.tn.gov Senator    Doug  Jackson    741-4499    sen.doug.jackson@capitol.tn.gov         Senator    Steve  Southerland  741-3851  sen.steve.southerland@capitol.tn.gov Senator    Jim  Tracy    741-1066    sen.jim.tracy@capitol.tn.gov         Senator    Ken  Yager    741-1449    sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Judy    Barker    741-0718    rep.judy.barker@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Joe    Carr    741-7849    rep.joe.carr@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Ty    Cobb    741-7444    rep.ty.cobb@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Vince    Dean    741-1934    rep.vince.dean@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Chad  Faulkner  741-3335    rep.chad.faulkner@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Richard  Floyd  741-2746    rep.richard.floyd@capitol.tn.gov Representative    George  Fraley  741-8695    rep.george.fraley@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Bill    Harmon    741-6849    rep.bill.harmon@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Matthew    Hill    741-2251    rep.matthew.hill@capitol.tn.gov         Representative    Phillip Johnson  741-7477    rep.phillip.johnson@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Pat    Marsh    741-6824    rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Jimmy    Matlock    741-3736    rep.jimmy.matlock@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Tony    Shipley    741-6867    rep.tony.shipley@capitol.tn.gov Representative    John    Tidwell    741-7098    rep.john.tidwell@capitol.tn.gov Representative    Ben    West    741-6959    rep.ben.west@capitol.tn.gov

Talking Points: •    Supporting families should be a priority for economic, social and public policy.  Limited English Proficient individuals and their families need to be able to drive to work, the grocery store, take their kids to school, or attend English classes.   •    Businesses that depend on workers with limited English proficiency will lose valuable workers.    •    This type of legislation harms both citizens and legal immigrants/residents. •    This type of legislation expects instant assimilation by newly arrived immigrants but that is not realistic.  It completely ignores the day-to-day realities of hard working immigrants living in Tennessee. Immigrants want to learn English.  Immigrants want to integrate into our society.  However this takes time, especially given the long waitlists for English Language Learning classes. •    The development of English proficiency among non-English speaking immigrants today mirrors that of 19th and early 20th century immigration, when masses of Italian, German, and Eastern European immigrants came to America.  While 1st generation, non-English speaking immigrants predictably have lower rates of English proficiency than native speakers, 91% of 2ndgeneration immigrants are fluent or near fluent English speakers.  By the 3rd generation, 97% speak English fluently or near fluently. •    This type of legislation fails to provide meaningful access to individuals who are limited English proficient.    Each of us has a right to live and act in accord with our God-given dignity, as well as a right to access to those things required for human decency—food and shelter, just treatment, education and employment, healthcare and housing.   •    We are called to work so that every person’s dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomes as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family, which knows how to appreciate with discernment the different cultures, which comprise it. •    The basic right to life implies and is linked to other human rights to the goods that every person needs to live and thrive—including food, shelter, health care, education and meaningful work.  Unjust policies, such as this legislation, are serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act.  Opposition to evil prompts us to recognize our positive duty to contribute to the common good and act in solidarity with those in need.   •    We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.  Our Catholic commitment to solidarity requires that we pursue justice, eliminate racism, protect human rights, and seek peace and justice. •    Any public safety rational for this type of legislation is undermined by the state’s current policies.  When new residents (including non English speakers) move into the state, TN honors valid licenses from other states when issuing a TN license.  For example: If a non-English speaker moves from Maryland to TN, they can show their valid Maryland license, take the vision exam and receive a TN license (according to the TN Driver Services Division website.)

Why does the Church care about immigration policies? The Catholic Church has historically held a strong interest in immigration and how public policy affects immigrants seeking a new life in the United States.   Based on Scriptural and Catholic social teachings, as well as her own experience as an immigrant Church in the United States, the Catholic Church is compelled to raise her voice on behalf of those who are marginalized and whose God-given rights are not respected.  The Church has a responsibility to shine the message of God on this issue and help to build bridges between all parties so that an immigration system can be created that is just for all and serves the common good, including the legitimate security concerns of our nation. Gospel Foundations One need not look further than the life and words of Jesus Christ to understand that persons on the move—refugees, migrants, immigrants—-are special in the eyes of God:    • In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to welcome the stranger: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave e drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25-35) • As we welcome the stranger into our midst, we welcome Christ Himself, for in the face of the migrant, immigrant, and refugee, we must see the face of Christ. •In the Gospel of Luke, this is made clear in the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13-15), as they become witnesses to the Truth by welcoming the stranger, who is Christ.

Excerpts from Catholic Social Teachings Option for the Poor and Vulnerable:  A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring.  Ina society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of the Workers: The economy must serve people, not the other way around.  If the dignity of work is to b protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property and to economic initiative. Solidarity: We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological difference.  We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.  Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world.  At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.  Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want to peace, work for justice.”  The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers.  Our love for all our brothers and sisters demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.   What Church Leaders are saying? In his recent trip to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI has continued a positive message in relation to immigration and called on Americans “to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrow and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home. This, indeed, is what your fellow countrymen have done for generations. From the beginning, they have opened their doors to the tired, the poor, the ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ These are the people whom America has made her own.” Pope John Paul II “Ecclesia in America” (January 23, 1999): In its history, America has experienced many immigrations, as waves of men and women came to its various regions in the hope of a better future… The Church is well aware of the problems created by this situation and is committed to spare no effort in developing her own pastoral strategy among these immigrant people, in order to help them settle in their new land and to foster a welcoming attitude among the local population, in the belief that a mutual openness will bring enrichment to all.  Migrants should be met with a hospitable and welcoming attitude which can encourage them to become part of the Church's life, always with due regard for their freedom and their specific cultural identity.

Urge Your Senators to Support Extension of Jobless Worker Benefits and COBRA.

WHAT:
This week, Congress will vote on legislation to promote job growth to continue our nation's move toward economic recovery. As part of these efforts, Catholic Charities USA asks you to join advocates across the country in urging the U.S. Senate to extend unemployment benefits and COBRA through the end of 2010. Without Congressional action, these critical benefits will run out at the end of February affecting millions of dislocated workers.

What You Can Do:
Contact your Senators today and ask them to help struggling Americans by extending Unemployment Insurance and COBRA subsidy through the end of 2010.

ACTION NEEDED:
Ask your Senators to support an extension of Unemployment Insurance benefits.
Ask your Senators to ensure that jobless workers can continue to receive health coverage by extending COBRA subsidies.
Ask your Senators to provide financial support to states and local governments to prevent further cuts to critical social services such as Medicaid.

BACKGROUND:
While the U.S. House of Representatives passed an extension of unemployment benefits in its jobs bill, the Senate failed to do so before the recent President's Day recess. This inaction now places millions of dislocated workers at risk of losing benefits that were provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Congress must take IMMEDIATE action to reauthorize current federal extensions (including both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs), the additional $25 per week in every jobless worker's benefits check, and COBRA subsidies for jobless workers. These benefits are set to expire at the end of February 2010 without Congressional action.

If you have questions, please contact Desmond Brown, Senior Director of Government Affairs at dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org, or, Kellyann McClain, Policy Analyst at kmcclain@catholiccharitieusa.org.

BISHOPS CALL FOR BIPARTISAN ACTION TO ADVANCE HEALTH CARE REFORM THAT PROTECTS HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
 
WASHINGTON—On the eve of the White House Health Care Summit, the U.S. Bishops urged Congressional leaders “to commit themselves to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.” In their February 24 letter to Congressional leadership, the bishops also cited their longtime support of adequate and affordable health care for all, calling health care a basic human right.

The letter was signed by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairs of the bishops’ committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Pro-Life Activities and Migration, respectively.

The bishops urged the House and Senate to adopt legislation that ensures access to quality, affordable, life-giving health care for all; retains longstanding requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them; effectively protects conscience rights; and protects the access to health care that immigrants currently have and removes current barriers to access.

 “We hope and pray that the Congress and the country will come together around genuine health care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all,” said the bishops.
For more information about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ teaching on health care reform, visit www.usccb.org/healthcare.
 
Full text of the bishops’ letter follows.
February 24, 2010
The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
 
Dear Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we strongly urge the congressional leaders from both parties meeting on February 25, 2010 to commit themselves to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.  It is time to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. We encourage the Administration and Congress to work in a bipartisan manner marked by political courage, vision and leadership.

The Catholic bishops have long supported adequate and affordable health care for all, because health care is a basic human right. As pastors and teachers, we believe genuine health care reform must protect human life and dignity from conception to natural death, not threaten them, especially for the voiceless and vulnerable. We believe health care legislation must respect the consciences of providers, taxpayers, purchasers of insurance and others, not violate them. We believe universal coverage should be truly universal and should not be denied to those in need because of their condition, age, where they come from or when they arrive here. Providingaffordable and accessible health care that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority.

The U.S. Catholic bishops continue to urge the House and Senate to adopt legislation that:
• Ensures access to quality, affordable, life-giving health care for all;
• Retains longstanding  requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them, and effectively protects conscience rights; and,
• Protects the access to health care that immigrants currently have and removes current barriers to access.

We will continue to work vigorously to advance true health care reform that ensures affordability and access, keeps longstanding prohibitions on abortion funding, upholds conscience rights, and addresses the health needs of immigrants. Dialogue should continue and no legislation should be finalized until and unless these basic moral criteria are met. Without commenting on specific proposals that may be brought to the summit, we will work to ensure that legislation meets these criteria and will oppose legislation that does not meet them. We hope and pray that the Congress and the country will come together around genuinehealth care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.
 
Sincerely,
Bishop William F. Murphy
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Chairman
Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
 
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Chairman
Committee on Pro-life Activities
 
Bishop John Wester
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Chairman
Committee on Migration

DATE:  February 24, 2010
FROM:  Don Clemmer
O:  202-541-3206
M:  260-580-1137

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BISHOPS CALL FOR BIPARTISAN ACTION TO ADVANCE HEALTH CARE REFORM THAT PROTECTS HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
WASHINGTON—On the eve of the White House Health Care Summit, the U.S. Bishops urged Congressional leaders “to commit themselves to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.” In their February 24 letter to Congressional leadership, the bishops also cited their longtime support of adequate and affordable health care for all, calling health care a basic human right.
The letter was signed by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairs of the bishops’ committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Pro-Life Activities and Migration, respectively. The bishops urged the House and Senate to adopt legislation that ensures access to quality, affordable, life-giving health care for all; retains longstanding requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them; effectively protects conscience rights; and protects the access to health care that immigrants currently have and removes current barriers to access. “We hope and pray that the Congress and the country will come together around genuine health care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all,” said the bishops. For more information about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ teaching on health care reform, visit www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Full text of the bishops’ letter follows.

February 24, 2010
 
The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
Dear Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we strongly urge the congressional leaders from both parties meeting on February 25, 2010 to commit themselves to enacting genuine health care reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.  It is time to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. We encourage the Administration and Congress to work in a bipartisan manner marked by political courage, vision and leadership.

The Catholic bishops have long supported adequate and affordable health care for all, because health care is a basic human right. As pastors and teachers, we believe genuine health care reform must protect human life and dignity from conception to natural death, not threaten them, especially for the voiceless and vulnerable. We believe health care legislation must respect the consciences of providers, taxpayers, purchasers of insurance and others, not violate them. We believe universal coverage should be truly universal and should not be denied to those in need because of their condition, age, where they come from or when they arrive here. Providing affordable and accessible health care that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority.

The U.S. Catholic bishops continue to urge the House and Senate to adopt legislation that:

• Ensures access to quality, affordable, life-giving health care for all;
  
• Retains longstanding  requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them, and effectively protects conscience rights; and,
  
• Protects the access to health care that immigrants currently have and removes current barriers to access.
  

Action Alert: Urge Congress Today to Continue to Work on Genuine Health Care Reform!
 
Brief Update: On January 25, 2010 USCCB leaders sent a letter to Congress encouraging Congress to begin working in a bipartisan manner providing political courage, vision and leadership. The bishops emphasized that We must all continue to work towards a solution that protects everyones lives and respects their dignity.

Passage of a health care reform bill is uncertain, but the need for reform remains a national priority and moral imperative. Health care is a basic human right. Yet, there are nearly 50 million Americans who do not have access to health care. Now is not the time to abandon this task, but rather to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. The entire letter can be found at www.usccb.org/healthcare/HC-Letter-to-Congress-012610.pdf. 

Bishops to Congress: Set aside partisanship for genuine health reform
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Three leading U.S. bishops called on members of Congress Jan. 26 to "set aside partisan divisions and special-interest pressures" to achieve genuine health reform. "The health care debate, with all its political and ideological conflict, seems to have lost its central moral focus and policy priority, which is to ensure that affordable, quality, life-giving care is available to all," said a letter signed by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishops William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and John C. Wester of Salt Lake City. The three chair the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' committees on Pro-Life Activities, on Domestic Justice and Human Development and on Migration, respectively. Although the letter did not refer specifically to the Jan. 19 election of Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts to the U.S. Senate, the bishops said, "Although political contexts have changed, the moral and policy failure that leaves tens of millions of our sisters and brothers without access to health care still remains."  by Catholic News Service
 
Take Action Now!
Contact your Senators and Representative today (For contact information, visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov ). The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Urge Congress to work in a bipartisan manner toward achieving affordable, accessible health care for all that protects life and does not threaten life.
Tell your Senators and Representative that health care reform must include the following criteria:
1) Ensure access to quality, affordable, life giving health care for all;
2) Retain longstanding requirements that federal funds not be used for elective abortions or plans that include them, and effectively protects conscience rights;
3) Protect the access to health care that immigrants currently have and removes current barriers to access; and,
4) Restrain costs and apply them equitably across the spectrum of payers.
For more information, contact: Kathy Saile, Director, Domestic Social Development, 202-541-3134, ksaile@usccb.org or visit: www.usccb.org/healthcare
 

The National Catholic Bioethics Center
6399 Drexel Road
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Tel. 215-877-2660
Fax. 215-877-2688
www.ncbcenter.org

Bioethics and Public Policy Report

[Click on Endnotes for More Information] January 2010

The National Scene: Although current versions of the federal health care reform proposal have been said to be no longer advancing, there remains an initiative to push through the untenable Senate proposal. Also, further proposals must be scrutinized for such provisions. This especially is true since for the first time in US history the US Senate health care reform proposal, with the Nelson Amendment, supported health care programs that include abortion on demand.
1 • For continuing opportunities to have your voice heard on this matter see http://www.nchla.org/issues.asp?ID=51.
2 • The US Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill which removes all funding for abstinence-only education, despite the fact that both pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates are on the rise for teens.
3 • In 2006 US Teen Pregnancy rates have increased by 3%.
4 • A United Nation’s resolution was defeated, which if passed, potentially would negatively impact religious liberty by creating special protections for gender identity and homosexual persons.
5 • A bill has been proposed in Congress to require that military facilities provide emergency contraception access to military personnel.
6 • The American Nurses Association (ANA) is seeking input on their draft document: Registered Nurses’ Roles and Responsibilities in Providing Expert Care and Counseling at the End of Life. Comments are needed by February 8, 2010. The NCBC has identified issues of concern. Please go to http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=183, to review the NCBC comments and to provide public comment to the ANA. The State of Conscience/Religious Liberty: The New Mexico Second Judicial District Court found a wedding photographer in violation of the state’s anti- discrimination law by refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding.
7 • The State of Marriage: It would appear that religion has gone on trial in the federal district court hearing, challenging the peoples’ vote on Proposition 8.
8 • The Rhode Island Legislature overrode Governor Don Carcieri’s veto of an unnecessary bill that de facto recognizes heterosexual and homosexual unmarried relationships in funeral planning and custody rights over the body of the deceased. Such matters under existing law could have been addressed through advanced planning documents. Now, however, an adult only has to have cohabitated with the deceased for one year and prove financial dependency,to havea right overthe family in such matters.
9 • The District of Columbia and its court have succeeded in violating the due process rights of its citizens by denying a referendum on same-sex marriage, stating it would violate civil rights.
10 • The adjacent Maryland Legislature is considering a bill to ban the legal recognition of out-of- state same-sex marriages.
11 • The Hawaii Senate has advanced a bill which if passed into law would provide for civil union status for same-sex couples.
12 • New Mexico’s Legislature again is considering a domestic partnership proposal.
13 • Defending the dignity of the human person in health care and the life sciences since 1972. State by State: The Montana Supreme Court, while finding no constitutional grounds for assisted suicide, found no law criminalizing such activity. Thus, current law does not prevent physician assisted suicide and does not restrict it. However, the courts did not take the issue out of the hands of the state legislature, which could enact prohibitions.
14 • The New Hampshire legislature defeated a proposal to legalize assisted suicide in that state.
15 • Alaska’s Archbishop Roger Schwietz is urging support of a referendum to assure parental rights over health care procedures of their minor daughters. The requisite petition signatures for the ballot issue have been secured.
16 • The Kentucky Legislature is advancing legislation requiring the opportunity for viewing an ultrasound before an abortion.
17 • A Nevada judge has ruled that a personhood ballot initiative cannot go to the people of Nevada for a vote.
18 • Mississippi voters may have the opportunity to vote on a personhood amendment. Requisite petition signatures are being gathered.
19 • A bill protecting personhood from the moment an embryo has been engendered has been proposed through a fetal homicide bill in Vermont.
20 • Good News: The New Jersey Senate defeated a proposal to recognize same-sex marriage in that state, but anti-traditional family advocates are taking their initiatives to the state supreme court.
21 • Sharing of Resources: The web page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center is a significant resource in the realm of bioethics: www.ncbcenter.org. Also, bioethicists are on call twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week, for consultation by calling 215- 877-2660.

1. http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=482
   
2. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/
   
3. http://health.usnews.com
   
4. http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/NPR-teens-15-19.aspx
5. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com
6. http://minnesotaindependent.com
7. http://www.marriagedebate.com
8. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=32099
9. http://www.latimes.com
10. http://www.washingtonpost.com
11. http://www.baltimoresun.com
12. http://www.aodonline.org
13. http://newmexicoindependent.com
14. http://www.lifenews.com/bio3028.html
15. http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11821032
16. http://www.lifenews.com/state4692.html
17. http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=289
18. http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/1922212648.html
19. http://www.personhoodmississippi.com/
20. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175522.php
21. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/81058192.html

Defending the dignity of the human person in health care and the life sciences since 1972.

UNITED STATES COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
LIFE ISSUES FORUM
"Nothing Like It Since Roe v. Wade"
By Tom Grenchik 

As long-time advocates of health care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops continue to make the moral case that genuine health care reform must protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.  The bishops have stated clearly that health care reform should not advance a pro-abortion agenda in our country.  But that is, in fact, what’s happening.

On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major health care reform that reaffirms the essential, longstanding and widely supported policy against using federal funds for elective abortions or plans that cover abortions and includes positive measures on affordability and immigrants. On December 24, the U.S. Senate rejected this policy and passed health care reform that requires federal funds to help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions.  All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions through a separate payment solely for abortion, and there is no way to opt out. Outside the abortion context, neither bill has adequate conscience protection for health care providers, plans or employers.

These two bills must now be combined into one bill that both the House and Senate will vote on in final form. Provisions against abortion funding and in favor of conscience protection must be part of a just health care reform bill, or the final bill must be opposed.  The bishops continue to be attacked for trying to “derail health care over abortion,” but who is it that is really forcing the abortion issue on health care reform? 

Thirty-seven years ago, the Supreme Court wrongly decreed that abortion was the law of the land.  Now Congress wants to force us to pay for it.  This could be the most radical expansion of abortion in our country since Roe v. Wade and conscience protections are being trampled in the process. 

Catholics, and all people of good will, need to make their voices heard insisting that health care reform protect the lives, dignity, consciences and health of all, and not advance a radical abortion agenda on our country.  Parishes across the country are distributing bulletin inserts from the U.S. bishops ’ Conference asking you to please contact your congressional representatives immediately and urge them to address these moral issues. The insert includes a web address www.usccb.org/action that allows you to send an email message to Congress with a click of a button or you can call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices. Contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.

The message to Congress is simple: “I urge you to work to uphold essential provisions against abortion funding, to include full conscience protection and to assure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. Until and unless these criteria are met, I urge you to oppose the final bill.”

Abortion is not health care.  True health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them.

To learn more about the bishops’ advocacy for authentic health care reform, visit www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Tom Grenchik is Executive Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Go to www.usccb.org/prolife to learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities

URGENT: UPDATED Nationwide Bulletin Insert on Health Care Reform

Attached, please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform. During October and November, diocesan and parish leaders were asked by the U.S. Bishops Conference to distribute two consecutive Nationwide Bulletin Inserts on health care  reform. Thank you for your great cooperation in that effort.

Since that time the following has occurred The U.S. House passed health care reform that reaffirms the essential, longstanding and widely supported policy against using federal funds for elective abortion coverage. The U.S. Senate has rejected this policy and passed health care reform that requires federal funds to help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions. All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions through a separate payment solely to pay for abortion. These two bills are being combined into one bill that both the House and Senate will vote on in final form. Catholics need to make their voices heard insisting that health care reform protect the lives, dignity, consciences and health of all. Provisions against abortion funding and in favor of conscience protection, affordability, and immigrants access to health care must be part of a fair and just health care reform bill. Unless and until these criteria are met, the final bill must be opposed.

Please distribute, ASAP, the attached Nationwide Bulletin insert widely. The next couple of weeks are critical. If your Arch/bishop approved disseminating the earlier bulletin inserts, this is an update to that effort. Also included are suggested Pulpit Announcements and a Prayer Petition. The Memo, Insert and Announcements, in Spanish, are also attached. Please encourage parishioners to pray for this effort as well. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/healthcare. The USCCB will be e-mailing these same materials to a large number of parishes across the country, already on a USCCB contact list. The parish list is incomplete, so we will still have to rely on diocesan e-mail systems to reach EVERY parish.

Thank you for your great help with this.

Thank you for your urgent actions and prayers on behalf of this nationwide effort!

USCCB
Pro-Life Secretariat

Cover Letter in English
Cover Letter in Spanish
Pulpit Announcement and Prayer in English
Pulpit Announcement and Prayer in Spanish
Bulletin Insert in English
Bulletin Insert in Spanish

Dear Catholic Advocacy Network Member,

Each day more CRS staff from around the globe arrive in Haiti, joining our existing staff of just over 300. Our headquarters building in Haiti was damaged but did not collapse. While aftershocks continued—including a 6.1 temblor this morning— staff slept outside and worked at desks pulled into the streets.

Despite enormous logistical challenges, one week after the devastating earthquake CRS staff has unloaded 120 containers (2100 metric tons) of vegetable oil and grains from the U.S. government onto the only operating wharf in Port-au-Prince. We are in the process right now of arranging for secure transport to our warehouse, where it will be distributed to the growing number of camps.
CRS has been asked by the United Nations to lead the response at one of the first formally organized camps, located at a golf course, where as many as 50,000 people are sleeping every night. CRS has arranged to supply the camp with water, food, and plastic sheeting for shelter, which continue to be trucked in from CRS warehouses in the neighboring Dominican Republic, where volunteers are working continuously to keep additional relief supplies coming.
CRS has formed six medical teams to provide health care at shelters and area hospitals and CRS teams have already distributed medical supplies and drugs. In addition, Project C.U.R.E. has donated 3000 pounds of additional medical supplies that are en route.

Three operating rooms at St. Francois de Sales Hospital—which withstood the quake — are now running, and surgeries are being performed on the most critically injured patients. Food, water and medical supplies have also been provided to the hospital. An AIDSRelief site, this is one of Haiti's oldest hospitals and one that CRS helped build. Its mission is to provide free care and treatment for the poor.

CRS is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support we have received in response to this calamity. But we can't stress enough how significant the damage is and how many of our brothers and sisters are affected. We are asking you to please support our efforts to help the millions of earthquake victims in Haiti. Your help is urgently needed. Please donate now.

If you have already given, we thank you so much for your generosity and ask that you consider deepening your support for the people of Haiti with a second gift.
God bless you,

Ken Hackett
President
Catholic Relief Service

CLIMATE CHANGE  
Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando (and former Chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy) wrote to the Catholic people in his diocese about the need to care for creation and noted that Pope Benedict's World Day of Peace Message, "adds a needed perspective in the debate over climate change and in light of the uncertain conclusions of the recent Copenhagen Climate Conference."

He notes that: "While the precise details of how climate change will affect the world are not known, the projections shared by scientists have been alarming. We can no longer ignore the visible signs that changes are occurring in our environment that will affect all life, especially human life. In many poorer nations, years of relief and development work are being undone by prolonged droughts, more intense storms and other extreme weather conditions associated with climate change."

Please read Bishop Wenski article about Catholic teaching on climate change at: http://www.orlandodiocese.org

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti

• We are praying for hope despite this situation, that even as we face darkness, people may see a pinpoint of light.
  
• Praying for families.
  
• Pray for a greater conscience among everyone, not just in Haiti but all over, that we must do something [to help].
  
• Pray for a spirit of thanksgiving for international agencies for their good heart and good faith.
  
• Pray for relief workers to have a spirit of patience and perseverance.
  
• For those who at this time are in search of meaning in their lives and peace.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. The organization alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.  CRS has been in Haiti for more than 50 years and responded immediately to the catastrophe with a $5 million commitment for emergency supplies.  This weekend, January 16-17, a special collection will be taken in parishes across the country to benefit CRS's humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

In Spanish
LIFE ISSUES FORUM   
January 8, 2010
For Immediate Release Using Health Care Reform to Promote Abortions  
By Susan E. Wills

Given an historic opportunity to expand access to affordable health care, Congressional leadership is at risk of undermining whatever good they could have accomplished. If abortion provisions in the recently passed Senate bill make it into the final “melded” bill, health care reform could die in the House or, surviving, could usher in the most massive expansion of the abortion license since Roe v. Wade.

Efforts to improve access to health care do not have to end in a choice between promoting a pro-abortion agenda and no reform. As of this writing, there’s still hope that Congressional leadership will embrace the “abortion neutral” approach they claimed to support throughout 2009.  This means maintaining the status quo with respect to abortion funding, i.e., retaining the longstanding policy of the Hyde Amendment and other statutes that bar federal funds from being used to pay for elective abortions or health plans that include them.

The House bill, the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” (H.R. 3962), meets that commitment thanks to the Stupak Amendment, which was supported by a bipartisan majority of House members (240-194).

Regrettably, the Senate rejected an amendment by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) very similar to the Stupak Amendment. Instead, under the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (Senate substitute for H.R. 3590), the government would help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions. Supporters say they have segregated funds covering elective abortions from the general federal subsidy, but the end result is that many purchasers of federally subsidized plans will be forced to make two premium payments every month, the second solely to pay for other people’s abortions!

During floor debate, pro-choice Senators cited two main reasons for rejecting the Nelson Amendment. Neither argument holds water.

They claimed that the Nelson Amendment was not “abortion neutral,” but instead imposed new and completely unacceptable restrictions on abortion coverage. This is ludicrous. The Nelson Amendment is essentially identical to the relevant passages of the Hyde Amendment and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). Only five days after rejecting the supposedly “restrictive” Nelson Amendment, the Senate readily passed an unrelated bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which contains both these abortion funding prohibitions, in language virtually identical to Nelson’s.

The second argument offered to justify federal abortion funding is that abortion is a “legal right” and, for that reason alone, should be covered with government assistance.  The U.S. Supreme Court settled this point in Harris v. McRae (1980). In finding the Hyde Amendment constitutional, the Court recognized that abortion is “inherently different” from all other medical procedures and stated that the legal right to procure an abortion does not require the government to pay for it.
That’s just common sense. Americans have a legal “right” to do all sorts of things, without being able to expect the government to pay for their habits. As an adult, I can legally buy a case of wine and a carton of cigarettes. I can even undergo liposuction or other elective, cosmetic surgery. But I’ve no right to insist that the government supply me with alcohol and tobacco, much less subsidize my extreme makeover.

Visit www.usccb.org/healthcare for a detailed analysis of the current health care bills.  Through this website, you can let your Senators and Representative know that if the final bill funds elective abortions and health plans that promote them, it should be rejected.
 
Susan Wills is assistant director for education and outreach, U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. To learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities, go to www.usccb.org/prolife.

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