Bishops Tell US Congress: 'Can’t Reduce Abortions by Promoting Abortion'

Justin Cardinal Rigali,the Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Committee, has written a clear, strongly worded letter to the United States Congress telling Americas legislators what should be obvious, “We Can’t Reduce Abortions By Promoting Abortion”

The letter was in response to the continued efforts to pass the so called “Freedom of Choice Act” or “FOCA” (S. 1173, H.R. 1964). This legislation has as its goal not only the codification of the so called "abortion right" created by the unelected Justices of the US Supreme Court in the Roe and Doe opinions of 1973, but the addition of even more sweeping anti-life provisions. Cardinal Rigali told Congress: “Despite its deceptive title... FOCA would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. And FOCA would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government to reduce abortions in our country.”

I hate the term “reducing abortions.” It assumes that a good goal is to have fewer abortions when the goal should be to have none. Once we start engaging in a numbers game we have lost. Would we have felt any different if in 1945 Germany had declared that due to questions of morality, fewer Jews would be gassed?

I am all for people convincing pregnant women to not have abortions. That is an individual act on the same level as any other act of charity, and deserves praise. What I don’t agree with is trying to intrude it into policy discussions. We, who oppose abortion, can get pulled into a trap by those who are pro-abortion. They get us focused on the numbers instead of the issue. One abortion is too many.

Here’s a letter to the editor I wrote, and I hope all prolifers will write a letter to their hometown newspapers:

“Dear Editor:

President Obama told Planned Parenthood that one of the first things he would do is sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) when it came to his desk. One of the many things that FOCA mandates is require prolife doctors, nurses and hospitals to perform abortions. Not only is this so wrong in itself, it would cause good health care professionals to get out of the maternity business, and Catholic hospitals to close.

Planned Parenthood wants to perfrom abortions at taxpayers’ expense, as much as possible. If Planned Parenthood gets everything they asked for, they would recieve $4.6 billion.

President Obama isn’t wasting any time. He has already signed an Executive Order to reverse the Mexico City Policy, which means our tax dollars will now be used for abortions around the world, including China which has coercive abortions.

Contact your congresspersons and U.S. senators and tell them not to support FOCA, or any legislation for pork for Planned Parenthood or other abortion agencies. The Capital Hill switchboard to call your senators and congresspersons is 202-224-3121, or you can call them at their local offices.”

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