Thread by me.
December 9, 2008 (InsideCatholic.com) - I recently attended a meeting of pro-life leaders from around the country, called in order to formulate a national strategy on how to defeat the promised Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). During the 2008 presidential campaign, President-elect Barack Obama infamously stated, to much applause, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."
The intent here is to codify the decision in Roe v. Wade, preventing future politicians (and courts outside the Supreme Court) from giving any more power to the states to place limits on abortion. In doing so, FOCA actually goes beyond Roe, calling abortion a "fundamental right" guarded by the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution (and not just the illusory "right to privacy" created in Griswold v. Connecticut, with Roe being part of its progeny).
The call to action in the meeting was admirable, but in the final analysis, it spoke volumes about the pro-life leadership in our country today: It is a group completely on the defensive and has accepted Roe as a framework to work within, rather than a fight to overcome. Choosing to operate within Roe's strictures has proven to be a failed strategy, bringing us to the point where there is a real possibility of FOCA being visited upon our nation...
Please pray for him at this most difficult time.
Thank you and God Bless.
Thread by NYer.
The great Fr. Richard John Neuhaus has inspired so many over the years. CMR requests prayers for him as he's been diagnosed with cancer. Fr. Neuhaus wrote this personal note on "First Things" today:
I cannot begin to respond to the deluge of assurances of prayer and concern about my health. Please be assured that I am grateful and count mightily on being remembered by you before the Throne of Grace. Or, as Catholics are wont to say, on your storming the gates of heaven. The nature of the cancer is beginning to come into clearer focus, and I hope to have more details in short order. Meanwhile, I will, please God, continue to be as engaged as possible in the work of First Things and other apostolates, even as I am compelled by grace to know more deeply our solidarity within the Body of Christ.HT Southern Appeal