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The House, overseen by Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, narrowly passed a version of a Health Care Reform Act, last Saturday night – what saved Speaker Pelosi – exclusion of federal funding for abortion. The Catholic Church played a pivotal role in the inclusion of the The Stupak amendment which was the only way to get those pro-life Democrats on board for passage of the bill.
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Now, that the Bill has moved to the Senate, Planned Parenthood is mustering its forces to make sure that the Senate Version does not include the “Stupak Amendment”. Additionally, the progressive, pro-abortion organization, NARAL, is begging its members to sign a petition to Harry Reid in order to stop inclusion of any pro-life (or anti-abortion) language in the Senate version. NARAL routinely endorsee Democrats who stand up for abortion , at the top of the list: Barack Obama. How much influence will the mulit-billion dollar abortion industry have in the Senate?
The proverbial jury is out on this one.
Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader is “pro-life”, and the Catholic church, with an estimated voting block of 70,000,000, which has in the past, almost exclusively voted for the Democrat in office, simply because, that candidate was a Catholic. From John Kerry to Harry Reid, the campaigns were taken from the street to the Church, until recently. Within the past few years, admonishments have come down on politicians who are Catholic and pro-abortion, from the Church.
Additionally, Reid who is considered "weak", has already indicated that the bill will not go to the floor much before December, possibly January or February of next year – he simply does not have the votes.
It remains to be seen, what influence, if any, the U.S. Catholic Bishops, bill bring to bear on the Senate version. That said, they are keenly aware of the efforst of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, and somewhat dismissive of both. If the Stupak Amendment is included, it would represent the voices of both the Catholic voting bloc, along with other Christian lobbying groups that also lobbied those in the House.
Therefore, it will be the lobby with the greatest clout who wins this battle. Presidential candidate are routinely questioned on their pro-abortion credentials, regardless of the fact that a President can do little but comment on the subject, let alone enact any legislation. (That is a rarity in most Congressional or Senate Races, with those very candidates showing up at local church events.) That legislation must come from Congress – and at the present time, congressional members are caught between their political donors and their Church (be it Catholic or otherwise) who, in the end, represents the millions who vote, will decide the inclusion of that cluase and other laguage that may not be acceptable to the "Church".
History, despite the present state of morality (or lack thereof) within the confines of the Country, has long been kind to the wishes of the Church and the influence it brings to bear on those that profess to be members of that Body.
again, it should be noted that abortion is not the only issue that is on the minds of the Church when it comes to this particular piece of legislation – there are other clauses, including penalties for those who do not carry insurance, that are considered “anti-family” by the Church.
In other Church/State News:
The Church has also come under attack on another front and the Bishops are fighting back: according to a story this morning in the Los Angeles Times
Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it would be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District of Columbia if the city refused to change a proposed same-sex marriage law.
The threat could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and healthcare.
Under the legislation, which the City Council is expected to pass next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey laws prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians.
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