March 27, 2009

Diocesan post cards urge defeat of FOCA

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently launched a postcard campaign to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). It was conducted Jan. 24-25 in parishes across the United States. Under the direction of Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger our diocese participated in what the USCCB is calling a campaign “unprecedented in scope,” that resulted in tens of millions of postcards being sent to Capitol Hill.

REPORT TO THE DIOCESE

By EMILY SNIPES (Pro-life coordinator, Catholic Charities)

Locally our parishes sent ap-proximately 80,000 postcards to senators and representatives. Each parish handled the distribution and mailing of the postcards differently, and relied on the help of pro-life coordinators and volunteers to participate in this campaign.

Postcards signed by Catholic community members asked members of Congress to retain current pro-life laws and policies, and oppose the federal funding and promotion of abortion, including FOCA or any similar pro-abortion measure.

The current Congress has the most pro-abortion members in 16 years and there is no doubt they will use that to their advantage to pass radical agenda’s such as FOCA, that would turn abortion into a fundamental “right” where the government would use taxpayer money to fund abortions. The new administration has already succeeded in rescinding several pro-life protections.

I contacted the senators’ and representatives’ offices to get an official response to the campaign and asked for statements regarding their positions on pro-life bills. Calls to Senator Bayh and Congressman Hill were not returned, however staff at Bayh’s office acknowledged that they had received postcards.

Mark Hayes, press secretary for Senator Lugar, stated their office has begun responding to each postcard they received and that this campaign has generated the largest amount of mail they’ve ever encountered. He also stated that Senator Lugar, “strongly believes in the sanctity of human life, and the decisions he makes as a Senator will continue to reflect this belief, including voting against the Freedom of Choice Act and any similar bills.”

Congressman Ellsworth’s DC office staff stated that they are currently logging each postcard into their computer and will be sending responses as well. Press Secretary Liz Farrar stated that Ellsworth’s official stand is that he “strongly opposes the FOCA bill” and that any similar measures would be evaluated individually before decisions can be made.

As a follow-up to the postcards the USCCB is now encouraging people to participate in an e-mail campaign to expand our previous efforts. You can find information at http://www.us-ccb.org/postcard and participate from their website.

Prayer needed

Despite these means of communication to our leaders, we must remember to voice our concerns to our Lord. Although millions of postcards and e-mails do make an impact, adding an equal amount of prayers is even more powerful. I challenge you to pray daily for the protection of unborn children, the defeat of abortion bills and similar measures that do not promote a culture of life, and for our nation’s leaders.

Support needed for ‘conscience’ law

Currently the Obama administration is moving to overturn the “conscience” law that allows health care workers to decline to provide or participate in any service that violates their beliefs. It was announced on March 10 and will be open for public comment for 30 days. You can contact the Department of Health and Human Services to voice your opinion.

This is the second abortion-related policy the new administration has tackled. On the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (January 22, 2009), the president reversed the so-called Mexico City policy, which had barred U.S. foreign assistance funds to international family planning organizations that perform or in any way promote abortion.

Susan Wills, assistant director for education and outreach for the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, recently commented, “a nation that elevates the destruction of innocent human life to the status of a fundamental right and government funded priority risks losing its basic commitment to the intrinsic rights and dignity of people in general.”