Hi friends in the Pro-Life movement. I received this email from Fr. Frank Pavone, and am posting a portion of it here. It is very important to know what's going on and to take action when and where we can. God Bless and the peace of Christ be with you and yours.
Fr. Pavone writes:
Abortion supporters aren't trying to pass the Freedom of Choice Act in one fell swoop.
Their plan is to break it into pieces and pass it incrementally.
And the recent proposal to make taxpayer funding of "family planning" part of the economic stimulus package shows, we were right. Although not specifically part of FOCA, "family planning" is a key element in the plan to enshrine abortion-on-demand as the law of the land for generations to come.
Make no mistake. The only reason federal funding for "family planning" was removed from the stimulus bill was due to the massive outcry of protest from you and your fellow pro-life activists.
That in itself demonstrates what the people of life can do when we make our voice heard in Washington! Which is why I've sent you this important letter.
As you know only too well, the Freedom of Choice Act threatens to abolish that fundamental right to life. A quick reading of the bill as it was introduced in the last Congress proves it. Here are three of its most dangerous provisions:
Section 4 (a) states: "It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman."
NOTE: That means abortion-on-demand!
Section 4 (b)(2) adds that "the government may not discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information."
NOTE: This is the section that will do away with so-called "obstacles" to abortion ... namely, parental notification ... informed consent ... waiting periods ... ultrasound requirements ... and a host of other state laws.
Section 6: This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
NOTE: This is the section that will be used to undo every pro-life provision in every state in the Union.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (part of the Library of Congress) put together a summary stating that FOCA:
Prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from: (1) denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices (NOTE: the "choices" are the three mentioned in Sect 4 (a) above) ; or (2) discriminating against the exercise of those rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.
From all this you can see why everyone is so fired up to keep FOCA from passing. Its abortion-on-demand language is far too radical for the vast majority of Americans to accept.
And those promoting the abortion agenda know it.
So rather than call attention to FOCA's extremist provisions, pro-abortion lawmakers in Congress will break FOCA into pieces and try to sneak them into law one section at a time. They will attach them to other legislation ... like they tried to do when they attached the federal funding of "family planning" programs to the economic stimulus bill.
But the reaction of our pro-life movement was swift and vocal.
So much so that the "family planning" proposal was quickly removed from the bill.
This makes two things crystal clear:
1. The leadership of Congress is going to use the current economic crisis to advance their anti-life agenda. And since passing the Freedom of Choice Act is one of their primary objectives, they will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal ... even if it means getting FOCA passed one section at a time as I noted above.
2. The people of life have the strength and political muscle to block that agenda ... if we rise up and make our voices heard.
The pro-abortion lawmakers who control Congress are arrogant elitists.
They are so smug in their new-found power that they believe they can steamroll the people of life because they are confident that when push comes to shove on the economy, the majority of our fellow Americans care more about themselves and their pocketbooks than they do about the youngest members of our human family.
Well, they may be right about many of our fellow Americans.
But they are 100% wrong about you and me and the people of life!
We will never abandon our unborn brothers and sisters!
And we will do everything in our power to awaken our fellow Americans and make them see the truth that abortion corrupts our whole society and retards progress on all the other issues that concern them ... including the economy!
That truth can be summarized in these words of Mother Teresa:
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must dieso that you may live as you wish."
Mark my words. We will not end legalized abortion-on-demand in our country until we engrave those words on the hearts of our fellow Americans. As we work round the clock to make that happen ...
... we must also maintain our vigilance over the political process lest the enemy catch us napping.
Whenever the abortion forces try to sneak a part of FOCA through Congress, we must sound the alarm and rally the people of life to rise up and stop them ... like with did with the anti-life proposal to use federal tax dollars to fund "family planning" programs.
In order for us to take on that vital role every means of our vast communications network must be fully funded and fully operational. These include:
Television: Most especially - (1) Our "Defending Life" series on EWTN, (2) The homilies I preach while celebrating Mass at EWTN, and (3) Our weekly "Gospel of Life" TV show on Sky Angel.
Radio: Our team of pastoral associates are on all the Catholic and Christian stations ... and secular talk radio shows, too.
Internet: Right now Priests for Life designs, maintains and updates over a dozen websites! These provide literally hundreds of thousands of readers information about our own activities as well as work that other pro-life organizations are doing.
Email: Instant communication with tens of thousands of pro-life activists.
Teleconferences: Key strategy sessions with pro-life leaders and activists.
Publications: My bi-weekly pro-life column ... editorials ... blog postings.
Pro-life conferences: Members of our pastoral team are constantly on the road giving pro-life talks and rallying the people of life to take to the streets.
Churches: We provide liturgical resources and other important pro-life material to priests and pastors of all denominations. And remember, each member of the clergy who preaches the Gospel of Life reaches thousands of people!!
That's the vast communications machinery we need to keep in full operation so that when the enemy tries to sneak a section of FOCA into another piece of legislation, we can sound the alarm and lead the people of life to rise up and stop it!
PS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unconscionable reasoning for why taxpayers need to pay for "family planning" shows you the kind of elitist thinking we're fighting. According to Speaker Pelosi and her crowd, babies are a drain on the economy because states have to pay for the health care and education of poor children. What gall! Babies are precious gifts from God. And we've got to protect them from callous elitists like Nancy Pelosi. Please, with a committed abortion advocate in the White House and abortion apologists like Pelosi in control of Congress, we've got to be vigilant and rally all pro-life Americans to rise up, speak out and defend the youngest members of our human family. And with your help today, Priests for Life will lead that fight!
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