Anti abortion republicans pushing through several bills in Washington have got the backing of the Roman Catholic Church.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston is chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). He recently sent letters of support for the three separate measures being pushed through the US parliament.
The first measure called the Protect Life Act wants to add extra words to Obama’s Health Care reforms which would specifically guarantee that taxpayers would not fund any abortions under the new reforms.
In the letter Cardinal DiNardo says: “[the amendment] address flaws in the new health care reform law and bring it into line with policies on abortion and conscience rights that have long prevailed in other federal health programs. It would do so by preventing funds under the new law from subsidizing abortion or health care plans that cover abortion, protecting the consciences of health care providers who decline to participate in an abortion, and ensuring that the law doesn’t override state laws on abortion and conscience.”
The second measure which the Catholic Bishop is supporting is called the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act. This aims to put into law a long standing policy called the Hyde/Weldon amendment which aims to protection of any health care organisations. Cardinal DiNardo wrote: “Passage of ANDA is urgently needed to protect the civil rights of health professionals and other health care entities.
This bill reaffirms a basic principle: No health care entity should be forced by government to perform or participate in abortions.”
The third measure is the straightforward ‘No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion’ Bill which if passed would stop all federal funding which supports abortion. This would effectively tear up the agreement that has lasted 35 years.
In his third letter, the Cardinal said: “Even public officials who take a ‘pro-choice’ stand on abortion, and courts that have insisted on the validity of a constitutional ‘right’ to abortion, have agreed that the government can validly use its funding power to encourage childbirth over abortion.”