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Excerpts from the
Statement of Cardinal Francis George, President of the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops
-- Part Two of Two
…The fundamental good is life
itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects
the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the
human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when
the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad
law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad
court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more
radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
In the last Congress, a
Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if
brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any
"interference" in providing abortion at will. It would deprive
the American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now
have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion
industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and
promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract
any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good
will to reduce the number of abortions in our country.
Parental notification and
informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be laws
banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting
infants born alive after a failed abortion. Abortion clinics
would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting the federal
funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have lethal
consequences for prenatal human life.
FOCA would have an equally
destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors,
nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not
permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn
children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions
and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would
further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on
opposing evil. On
this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are
of one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are
also pastors who have listened to women whose lives have been
diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort
a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills, and the
psychological and spiritual consequences are written in the
sorrow and depression of many women and men. The bishops are
single-minded because they are, first of all, single-hearted.
The recent election was
principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss
of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and
around the world. If the election is misinterpreted
ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by
President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis
will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn
children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good,
which is assured only when the life of every human being is
legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies,
legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens
of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack
on the free exercise of their religion.
This statement is written at
the request and direction of all the Bishops, who also want to
thank all those in politics who work with good will to protect
the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those in public life
do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves
and their families; and we are grateful. We express again our
great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good
of our nation. The common good is not the sum total of
individual desires and interests; it is achieved in the working
out of a common life based upon good reason and good will for
all. Our prayers
accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are
cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in
government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part
of our elected "watchman." (Psalm 127) May God bless him and our
country.
Part One |
