Posted on 08/19/2009 4:02:40 PM PDT by wagglebee
August 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, has penned a scathing editorial, published today in the Huffington Post, in which she sets her sights on the U.S. Catholic bishops, slamming them for their opposition to the abortion mandate in the Obama health care bill, and to abortion in general.
"Does anyone else see the irony in the U.S. bishops wanting to define universal health care as covering everything except for what they don't support?" writes Richards. "Since when does universal health care mean denying comprehensive reproductive health care supported by the majority of Americans?"
Richards then goes on to accuse the bishops of endangering "millions" of women's lives around the globe with their "hard-line opposition to women's rights." "The effort to criminalize access to safe abortion endangers most women in the developing world -- the very women that you would think the bishops would be concerned about," says Richards.
The U.S. bishops, while expressing support for healthcare reform in general, have been adamant in their stance that healthcare reform must not include mandated abortion coverage - something that the current legislation would do if passed.
In an August 11 letter Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chairman of United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, carefully but forcefully countered claims, propagated by proponents of Obama's healthcare reform, including Planned Parenthood and Cecile Richards, that the Obama plan wouldn't mandate abortion coverage and lead to taxpayer funding for abortions.
Any claim that taxpayer money would not be used to fund abortion is "an illusion," said Rigali in that letter. "Government will force low-income Americans to subsidize abortions for others (and abortion coverage for themselves) even if they find abortion morally abhorrent."
Numerous other prominent bishops, including Archbishop Charles Chaput, Bishop Robert Vasa, and Bishop R. Walter Nickless have also spoken strongly against the abortion provisions in the healthcare bill.
The intense campaign to publicize the abortion mandate in the healthcare bill, not only by the U.S. bishops, but by a huge alliance of pro-life and pro-family organizations, appears to have been successful, with a majority of Americans in a recent poll saying that they believe the Obama reform would include taxpayer funding for abortion.
However, with the majority of Americans calling themselves pro-life, any taxpayer funding for abortion is likely to be extremely unpopular and contribute to the swelling opposition to the Obama plan.
When pro-life concerns about the abortion mandate in the healthcare bill first began to be expressed, pro-abortion groups and legislators responded by simply denying that the legislation would mandate abortion coverage. Cecile Richards was amongst these, saying at the beginning of this month that the abortion mandate is a "myth."
"Nothing in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage -- or any other type of health care service -- in the Exchange," Richards insisted in a column for the Huffington Post early in August. "Opponents of women's health and health care reform are exploiting this legislation as a way to push for unprecedented prohibitions on abortion coverage in the private marketplace."
In her most recent article, however, the Planned Parenthood head was more candid about her views on the healthcare plan, saying that it should include "comprehensive reproductive health," a term that for Planned Parenthood includes abortion and contraception.
"We have an opportunity this year to fundamentally address serious health care issues for women and young people in America," says Richards, "and we stand ready to partner with President Obama and Congress to find solutions to our most pressing health care issues."
"We call upon Congress and the White House to continue to stand firmly on the side of women in health care reform. Women are needed to pass health care reform -- and we are not going backwards and we are not going away."
NOBODY is opposed to "women's health care", we are opposed to MURDERING BABIES; and for the record, monsters like Cecile Richards are responsible for the deaths of over 1800 American females EACH DAY.
Pro-Life Ping
Ping for your lists.
Freepmail wagglebee or DirtyHarryY2K to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
“Since when does universal health care mean denying comprehensive reproductive health care supported by the majority of Americans?”
Since when does any kind of health care mean killing your children?
Dear Cecile,
Woman are still dying from botched abortions.
And the babies always die as well.
It’s okay. Let them leave the recreational abortion in the bill, let them force the hand of Catholic hospitals.
The Bishops have already stated they will close them in a New York minute.
Let Planned Parenthood take in the Psych patients in places like Cleveland where the worst go to St. Vincent’s.
If the Bishops try to close the hospitals, Obama will attempt to nationalize them. We need to be ready for that.
Stupid old broad ~ she wants us to include “killin’” in “care”. If she didn’t have the protection of armed federa, state and local cops her problems would have disappeared years ago.
It will be a cold day in Hell when the gov’t thinks it can out-argue the catholic Church...bad mistake trying to argue that position against the CC.
Does anyone else see the irony of abortion being argued on the grounds of personal ownership of one's body, when this healthcare bill specifically claims government ownership of one's body?
Hey Cecile, if the healthcare bill banned abortion under the same government claim of ownership of people's bodies, would you go along with it?
this from the woman who worships on the altar of abortion....
Since when does universal health care mean denying comprehensive reproductive health care supported by the majority of Americans?
Also, the majority of Americans do not support abortion, not the kind of abortions that Planned Parenthood pimp as ‘choice’, anyway. Americans probably universally agree that women have an inalienable right to not get pregnant. However, killing unborn children, especially those that would be viable outside the womb, is a horror show that citizens do not want to finance.
>>If the Bishops try to close the hospitals, Obama will attempt to nationalize them. We need to be ready for that.<<
I agree. The Bishops need to be ready. Catholics need to be ready. Ready to throw this firmly in the lap of Obama.
Ha, that is true, especially when it’s the Catholics against this bunch of high-school orators (and kindergarten thinkers, in comparison).
I’ll second you
“To compel a man (or woman) to contribute money for the propogation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” T Jefferson
Pro Choice? As in the (as yet) unborn having a say in the matter?
Jefferson would have blown chunks all over the highway if he’d had Any clue how far these unwilling “Contributions” would eventually reach.
I wonder if Obama can risk losing the Catholic vote?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.