[OLDCATH-L] Current Legislation

[+Marty]

Dear Old Catholic Bishops, Priests and Lay People,

 

Please be aware of the current legislation being voted on this
weekend. The hidden language in the House bill is pro-choice
supporting abortion with taxpayer monies. Make sure your congressional
representative is informed! Also the conscience clause is in question.

 

Abortion takes a life! By faith, we must oppose murder no matter how
it is disguised. Recall please that the Fifth Commandment says "Thou
shall not murder." 'Kill' was a term placed into the translations. 

 

The USCCB could do a lot of good by automatically excommunicating any
Catholic who votes in favor of any pro-abortion legislation. The BIG
QUESTION: "Do they have the testicles to do it?" and if passed would
they have the chutzpah to close the hospitals if they are required to
permit abortions?

 

May God Bless You,

 

+Marty

 

For the Greater Glory of God


US Bishops: Abortion Isn't Health Care


Send Urgent Message to Congress


WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 6, 2009 (Zenit.org <http://www.zenit.org> ).-
Keep abortion funding out of health care reform. That is the key
message the U.S. episcopal conference communicated today in an urgent
letter sent to the nation's House of Representatives. 

In the letter, sent as House members debated procedures related to
abortion and the health care reform bill, the bishops "strongly urge"
the lawmakers to "vote for essential changes and a fair process in the
House of Representatives to ensure that needed health care reform
legislation truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences
of all."

The letter was signed by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre,
New York, chairman of the bishops' Domestic Justice Committee;
Cardinal Justin Rigali, chair of the Committee on Pro-life Activities;
and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair of the Committee on
Migration.
 
In particular, the bishops call for support of an amendment that would
keep in place "current federal law on abortion funding and conscience
protections and to oppose a closed rule that would prevent the House
from voting on this crucial matter."
 
The letter explains that the Church is concerned "because the current
legislation before the House of Representatives fails to keep in place
the longstanding federal policy against the use of federal funds for
elective abortion or for plans that include elective abortion -- a
policy upheld by the Hyde Amendment, Children's Health Insurance
Program, Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and other federal
health initiatives."

"Without such protection we will have to oppose the current
legislation until this fundamental flaw is remedied," they warn.

The bishops ask lawmakers to vote for an amendment to the current bill
"that will keep in place the longstanding and widely supported federal
policy against government funding for elective abortions or for plans
which include elective abortions."

"To accomplish this we also urge you to support efforts to guarantee
that the House will have a clear and fair opportunity to vote on this
essential matter," they added. 

Some in the House are seeking a "closed rule," a procedure banning
amendments from the bill.

Not as promised

The bill as it currently stands, the bishops explain, "allows the U.S.
Secretary of Health and Human Services to mandate that any 'public
option' will include unlimited abortions. The Congressional Research
Service has confirmed that all money paid out by this plan for medical
procedures will be federal outlays.

"Federal subsidies will also be used to pay the overall costs of
establishing and maintaining private health plans that cover elective
abortions. Millions of purchasers will be forced to use their premium
dollars for abortion coverage they do not want, through a new
mandatory fee."

The bishops affirm that the "abortion surcharge" would result in many
pro-life Americans having to pay "directly and explicitly for abortion
coverage."

They add that this is "unprecedented in federal law," and that it runs
"counter to the principles of the long-standing Hyde Amendment."

The bishops add: "Thus far, H.R. 3962 does not meet President [Barack]
Obama's commitment of barring use of federal dollars for abortion and
maintaining current conscience laws.

"While Section 259 of the bill maintains essential nondiscrimination
protections for providers who decline involvement in abortion, the
legislation also requires each region of the insurance exchange to
include at least one health plan with unlimited abortion, contrary to
the policy of all other federal health programs; and conscience
protection on issues beyond abortion have yet to be included in this
bill."

Immigrants and poor 

The bishops also addressed other health care issues, and asked for
reform that would benefit immigrants, regardless of legal status, and
the removal of the five-year ban that prevents legal immigrants from
accessing Medicaid and other federal health-care programs.
 
The bishops also called for support of provisions that would make
health care more accessible for the poor and vulnerable, especially to
the elderly.

"The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long supported
adequate and affordable health care for all," they noted. "We believe
universal coverage should be truly universal, not denying health care
to those in need because of their condition, age, where they come from
or when they arrive here."

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On the Net:

Full text: www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-228.shtml