Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R, TN-07) has introduced H.R. 61, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act of 2013, which would stop the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from providing federal family planning assistance under Title X to abortion businesses unless they certify they won’t provide and refer abortions.
The reintroduction of this legislation in the 113th Congress made technical corrections to Congressman Mike Pence’s H.R. 217 which was introduced in the 112th Congress. Rep. Blackburn is Vice-Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee which oversees Title X of the 1970 Public Health Service Act. She hopes to build on the support her former colleague and good friend, Congressman Mike Pence, garnered in previous Congresses including successful efforts to attach the language as an amendment to pending legislation. In 2010, a GAO report showed that America’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, received over $340 million from the Title X family planning program.
Senator David Vitter (R, LA) has introduced the companion legislation S. 135 in the U.S. Senate.
Today, Live Action, the youth-led pro-life group, released a new undercover video showing a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Austin, TX encouraging a woman to obtain a late-term abortion because she was purportedly carrying a girl and wanted to have a boy. The video is first in a new series titled “Gendercide: Sex-Selection in America,” exposing the practice of sex-selective abortion in the United States and how Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry facilitate the selective elimination of baby girls in the womb.
In addition, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on H.R. 3541, known as the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), as amended to focus exclusively on sex-selective abortion, TOMORROW – May 30, 2012. It is amazing the United States is one of the few countries that DOES NOT have a gender selection law.
There is not much time for action alerts with the House moving the legislation to the floor under a move that is called “suspension.”
Please call your representative at (202) 224-3121 IMMEDIATELY and urge them to VOTE YES on H.R. 3541.
Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum both issued strong pro-life statements around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the March for Life in Washington, D.C. this week. We are providing them here for informational purposes. (more…)
Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence the Church and the history of men; You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood render us participants in divine Life and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life; We adore and bless you.
Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life, truly present and alive among us, we beg you. (more…)
Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, California delivered the following remarks to a pro-life rally on Sunday, January 22, 2012 – the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. They are worth sharing with faithful Catholics across the country. (more…)
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today delivered opening remarks at the 39th March for Life. Following are Speaker Boehner’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
“Thank you, Nellie, and let me thank all of you for braving the elements. I’m truly honored to be here.
“I come before you as Speaker of the whole House of Representatives and leader of the bipartisan pro-life majority in Congress. With your help, this bipartisan majority is standing up for life and working to restore the damage of Roe v. Wade. We are heeding the voice of the people, who overwhelmingly oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. The House has passed bipartisan legislation to codify the Hyde Amendment across all federal programs. And we’ll continue to press the Senate for a vote. (more…)
There should be no doubt in faithful Catholics’ minds that President Obama is pro-abortion. Just read the statement he issued on Sanctity of Life Sunday – January 22, 2012:
“As we mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right. While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue- no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption. And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”
Based on the Obama Administration’s policy positions here is a translation key to the some of the statements above:
Statement:
“I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.”
Translation:
I DO NOT think that Roe v. Wade should be overturned and is the law of the land.
Statement:
“we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies”
Translation:
My Secretary of Health and Human Services is taking care of this with our rule forcing health care plans to offer sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception.
Statement:
“reduce the need for abortion”
Translation:
See previous comment about sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception and I never said I did not want abortion to be available. In fact, I was willing to shut down the government to ensure your tax dollars pay for abortion.
On Thursday, October 13, 2011, the House of Representatives passed the Protect Life Act. H.R. 358 amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to modify special rules relating to coverage of abortion services.
The bill received bipartisan support with 15 Democrats and 236 Republicans voting for the Protect Life Act. Two Republicans and 170 Democrats voted no. Three Republicans and seven Democrats did not vote. Continue reading to see how your Member of Congress voted. (more…)
Today, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are celebrating the installation of Archbishop Charles J. Chaput O.F.M. The question thus arises why Nicholas P. Cafardi, Dean Emeritus of the Duquesne Law School, would publish an op-ed in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer both maligning and accusing Archbishop Chaput of propagating a “one-issue” Catholic Church. That issue, of course, is abortion, a practice that Archbishop Chaput has consistently reminded all Catholics, including Catholic politicians, should be opposed rather than supported.
To imply that Archbishop Chaput does not care about the “broad spectrum of values,” such as caring for the poor and immigrants, is simply silly. This accusation will gain no traction among those who know the archbishop and his 23 years of revitalizing the dioceses of Rapid City, South Dakota and Denver, Colorado. It’s the predictable accusation of Catholics, like Carfardi, who have publicly supported political candidates, such as Barack Obama, with indisputable records of support for abortion. (more…)
It was long in coming: An August 26 open letter signed by many of the Catholics who have cheered on President Obama and his administration have asked that the health care policy be changed to allow conscience protection for religious institutions.
Among the signatories are Professors Fr. Thomas Reese of Georgetown, Lisa Sowie Cahill of Boston College, Margaret Steinfels of Fordham, and Nicholas Cafardi of Duquesne. All are Obama supporters, and all signed a 2009 letter circulated by Professor Stephen Schneck of the Catholic University of America in defense of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius when, because of her support for abortion, she was not to receive communion.
Now, ironically, these same Catholic, Obama supporters are asking Secretary Sebelius to change a policy that would force Catholic institutions to offer contraception and abortion in the name of “health care.” Their 2009 letter described Sebelius as “a woman of deep faith” but obviously not deep enough to care about using the power of the government to close down Catholic hospitals that would not abide by HHS policy. (more…)
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