Posted on 03/18/2010 3:50:02 PM PDT by rhema
The Catholic Health Association recently endorsed the Senate version of the health-care bill, giving President Obama “cover” to push pro-life House Democrats to vote for it.
But the CHA’s statement is deceptive, and its history on the issue of life is highly suspect.
The statement issued by Sr. Carol Keehan, CHA’s president and CEO, reads: “We said there could not be any federal funding for abortions,” followed by a description of how people who want abortion coverage in their government insurance will be required to write a separate personal check for the cost. Clearly the implication is that the “separate check” — an abortion surcharge — cures the abortion-funding problem. Nothing could be further from the truth.
What Keehan ignores, intentionally or otherwise, is section 1303, which provides federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortions and requires everyone to pay for others' abortions through taxes and the abortion surcharge; section 1334, which authorizes the government-run multi-state plans to cover elective abortions; and section 10503, which provides millions of dollars to community health-care centers who will be free to use those dollars for elective abortions. The president’s proposal to amend the Senate bill leaves these sections in place.
The notion that the Catholic Health Association would float a straw man to cover President Obama’s abortion problems is not surprising, given its sketchy history on sanctity of life issues.
For example, in 2004 CHA took issue with Pope John Paul II when he spoke of the obligation to feed and care for the most helpless of patients. The pope’s pronouncement at the International Congress on Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State was clear: The provision of water and food, even by artificial means, “always represents a natural means of preserving life” and is “morally obligatory.” The CHA called this plain language “ambiguous” and instructed its members not to change their approach — an approach, according to USA Today (4/01/04), which considered tube feeding as “medical treatment” which could be discontinued in light of “burdens” on a patient’s family, among other reasons.
Later when the Vatican re-affirmed that the pope had, indeed, meant what he said, the CHA demurred again through its bioethicist Fr. Kevin O’Rourke who mischaracterized the Vatican’s position. Not incidentally, O’Rourke is the same bioethicist who signed a legal brief against “Terri's Law,” telling the Miami Herald: “For Christians, it is a blasphemy to keep people [like Terri Schiavo] alive as if you were doing them a favor.”
The CHA has also endorsed the use of the “morning-after pill” in Catholic hospitals, which can cause the death of a human embryo. In 2002, it defended its position in its journal, Health Progress, through a series of breathtakingly cavalier claims, including that “the risk of pregnancy resulting from rape is very small” and the “probable” effect of the pill is prevention of conception “rather than causing the death of a conceptus.” In other words, there might be a baby, but he probably won’t die, so Catholic hospitals should provide the pill.
It is important to remember what the Catholic Health Association is, and what it is not. It is a voluntary association of Catholic hospitals, but not the only voice from the Catholic health-care community. The Catholic Medical Association is the largest professional association of Catholic physicians and has been strongly critical of the Senate bill.
The CHA has no official jurisdiction over any Catholic health-care institution, and it is not “The Bishops” — not by a long shot. On Tuesday, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano underscored this point, saying, “The CHA's position does not reflect in any way the convictions of the United States Bishops Conference.”
Also on Tuesday, CHA board member Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg publicly disagreed with Sister Keehan, describing the Senate bill as “a vehicle that expands abortion rights [and] weakens conscience clause protection.” Bishop Lynch wrote on his blog: “I side with the USCCB on this one.”
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, issued a stinging indictment of the Senate bill after the CHA endorsement, saying the bill “forces all of us to become involved in . . . the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human family still waiting to be born.” “It must be opposed,” wrote Cardinal George, unless its serious moral problems are addressed.
Congress is poised to approve a bill that would force Americans to pay for the largest expansion of abortion in America since Roe v. Wade. Let no one be fooled by the Catholic Health Association’s folly.
— Cathy Ruse is senior fellow for Legal Studies at the Family Research Council. She was formerly the chief spokesperson on human-life issues for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Ping.
Saying that for years(on deaf ears).
Got to remember that both the CHA and the sisters comprise of a lot of radical left people.
A bookmark for my crapweasel congresscritter.
Catholic, whatever. It is a “Health Association”
Obama care—more money from us to health providers. Are Catholic Health Providing institutions somehow not knowledgeable about this?
National Review is one of the looniest so-called conservative reviewers during the whole debate. Panicked about the fake public option ruse, has no opinion on what the bill really is and what it does and who gets the money from whom. Business cultists, they think that when a business speaks, it’s for the benefit of all.
CHA rears its ugly head, again; ping.
unfortunately, neither can the bishops.
It makes me sick.
This is from a 2007 contact list of congressional aides. Some might not be there any longer, but worth a try. The ones on the one post are senate aides, a few have bounced back, it’s worth the effort to clog up their email system along with the phones, and 1/3rd of these senators are up for re-election.
Mail must be inspected for anthrax.
Contact congressional aides.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1857768/posts
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)
Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
Defeat Obamacare call list: List now contains the new MAYBES culled from FR posts. Be sure to call KNOWN RINOS too.THEY ARE ANSWERING THEIR LOCAL NUMBERS
Here is one of the ones Rush gave out on the radio that I’m calling. So far it’s been busy but I’m going to burn it up till I get to tell my congress critter to vote NO!
Join me?..... 1-877-762-8762
Good idea from the bloggers at Hillbuzz:
http://hillbuzz.org/2010/03/17/action-items-march-17th-2010/
They offer specifics and links on how to put pressure on Dem DONORS, who have private numbers for legislators who may have taken their phones off the hook.
Congress may not want to hear from us, but they’ll listen to the money men.
KEEP THE CALLS UP! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE
CODE RED Contact list http://www.nrcc.org/CodeRed/targets/
Remember they are all being offered BRIBES for their votes. Ask them how much their bribe price is.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a target list on health care. In addition to continuing to contact the five Tennessee Democrat Congressmen, you can go http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/94697.aspx to contact some of these targets. Much of the talk following Obama’s announcement has focused on how to defeat this second bill through reconciliation, but that is misleading because the first step to defeating Obamacare is not by concentrating on defeating the “fixer” bill but by defeating the Senate bill in the House when it goes to the floor for an up-or-down vote on Thursday, March 18th.
RUSH says to pressure these 2
Charles Wilson, Ohio Toll Free Number 888-706-1833 DC (202) 225-5705 fx: (202) 225-5907, Bridgeport, (740) 633-5705 fx: (740) 633-5727, Canfield, (330) 533-7250 fx: (330) 533-7136 Marietta, : (740) 376-0868 fx: (740) 376-0886 Ironton, (740) 533-9423 fx: (740) 533-9359 Wellsville, 330) 532-3740
Joe Cao DC (202) 225-6636 Fax: (202) 225-1988, NO (504) 483-2325 Fax: (504) 483-7944
New FLIPPERS
Dennis Kucinish, Lakewood 216)228-8850, Fax (216)228-6465,
Parma. 440)845-2707, Fax (440)845-2743, DC (202)225-5871
Dennis Cardoza DC (202) 225-6131, Fax: 225-0819, 800-356-6424, Merced, (209) 383-4455 Fax: 726-1065 Modesto 209) 527-1914 Fax: 527-5748 Modesto, (209) 527-1914
Fax: 527-5748
Jim Costa Fresno 559-495-1620, Fax:559-495-1027, Bakersfeld, 661-869-1620 Fax: 661-869-1027 DC Phone:202-225-3341 Fax: 202-225-9308
Fax (202)225-5745
James Oberstar (202) 225-6211, Duluth (218) 727-7474, Chisholm (218) 254-5761, Brainerd (218) 828-4400, North Branch, (651) 277-1234
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
John Boccieri (D), Ohio Voted Yes on Stupak, NO on Health Care.Contact info - DC office (202) 225-3876 - Fax - (202) 225-3059 (330) 489-4414, Local Fax - (330) 489-4448
Rep. Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831 Columbia office: 931-490-8699
Rep. Jim Cooper 202-225-4311 Nashville office: 615-736-5295
Rep. Bart Gordon 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro office: 615-896-1986
John Tanner (202) 225-4714, Union City, (731) 885-7070, Jackson Phone: (731) 423-4848, Millington (901) 873-5690 TN (MAYBE)
Rep. Steve Cohen 202-225-3265 Memphis office: 901-544-4131
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
James Matheson Toll-Free Number 1 (877) 677-9743 (202) 225-3011Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI (MAYBE)
Brian Baird (202) 225-3536, Vancouver, (360) 695-6292. Olympia, (360) 352-9768, (MAYBE)
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE
Jason Altmire 202-225-2565, Aliquippa, 724-378-0928,
Natrona Heights, 724-226-1304 (MAYBE)
On the Bubble (Major developments from the “yes” and “no” columns in the House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2467046/posts
Congressional Dems on Twitter
http://www.arrghpaine.com/congressional-dems-on-twitter
And here are toll-free numbers we can use to call any Senators or Reps.
At the first number below you must wait through a tape recording urging you to tell your Rep or Senator to vote “yes” for the health care bill. Just hang on and when the recording is over, you will get the Capitol operator. Just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Then you will either talk to an aid or have the chance to leave a message for him/her to vote NO on the health care bill.
When you use the second number and the Capitol operator comes on, just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Every time I use this number I get the Rep or Senator’s answer machine, so it may be set up that way all the time...to go to their answer machine. Either way you can leave a message to vote NO on the health care bill!
We need to use these toll free numbers that have been set up for the health care/ BO supporters and illegals to use! After all they are FREE!
1-866-220-0044, 1-866-338-1015, 877-851-6437, 877-210-5351
This group is either extremely naive, or CINOs.
“March 18, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Clarification
Washington—A recent letter from Network, a social justice lobby of sisters, grossly overstated whom they represent in a letter to Congress that was also released to media.
Network’s letter, about health care reform, was signed by a few dozen people, and despite what Network said, they do not come anywhere near representing 59,000 American sisters.
The letter had 55 signatories, some individuals, some groups of three to five persons. One endorser signed twice.
There are 793 religious communities in the United States.
The math is clear. Network is far off the mark.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh
Director of Media Relations
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops”
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-048.shtml
Moral of the story: Anybody can CLAIM to be a practicing Catholic or represent Catholics.
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