Category Archives: Advocating Dignity

2021 Respect for Life Month Statement

2021 Respect for Life Month Statement

Statement of Respect for Life Month from Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann, Chairman U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities

The month of October brings with it our annual observance of Respect Life Month. As part of the Year of St. Joseph declared by Pope Francis, this year’s celebration highlights the example of that great saint.

As the faithful protector of both Jesus and Mary, we find in St. Joseph a profound reminder of our own call to welcome, safeguard, and defend God’s precious gift of human life.

Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding Mary’s pregnancy, St. Joseph took her into his home at the word of the angel. He guided their journey to Bethlehem, found shelter, and welcomed the infant Jesus as his son. When Herod threatened the life of the Christ Child, St. Joseph left his homeland behind and fled with Jesus and Mary to Egypt.

Like St. Joseph, we are also called to care for those God has entrusted to us–especially vulnerable mothers and children. We can follow in the footsteps of St. Joseph as protector by advocating against taxpayer-funded abortion, which targets the lives of millions of poor children and their mothers here in the United States. We can imitate his care and provision by helping to start Walking with Moms in Need at our parishes, "walking in the shoes" of mothers experiencing a difficult pregnancy, especially low-income mothers in our communities.

At times, we may feel uncertain of our ability to answer the Lord’s call. But He invites us to faithfully respond, despite our own fears or weaknesses: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).

May we imitate St. Joseph’s faithful trust and courage as we work to uphold the dignity of every human life. St. Joseph, defender of life, pray for us!

To learn more about preventing taxpayer-funded abortion, visit www.notaxpayerabortion.com . To walk with moms in need through your local parish, go to www.walkingwithmoms.com.To join in prayer for the intercession of St. Joseph, defender of life, visit www.respectlife.org/prayer-to-st-joseph .

Link to statement:  https://www.usccb.org/news/2021/2021-respect-life-month-statement

NOURISH NY Action Needed

The New York State Legislature voted to make NOURISH NEW YORK (NYS Senate Bill S4892A), the state’s farm to food bank/pantry initiative, a permanent state program.  This pandemic-initiative provides funding to New York’s food banks and emergency food providers (such as Catholic parish food pantries and other community food pantries) for the direct purchase of New York-produced fruit, vegetables and dairy products to feed those in need.   To-date, food banks have purchased and passed through to food pantries, 21 million pounds of agricultural products from New York farms which fed 1.3 million food-insecure families across the state.  NOURISH NEW YORK invests in a statewide food system that expands market opportunities for farmers, eliminates food waste, and makes sure no New Yorker goes hungry.   

Our advocacy on Diocesan Public Policy Weekend (February 2021) helped make the NOURISH NEW YORK program permanent, but legislative leaders never sent the bill to the Governor for signature!

Nourish NY action needed

 

Act Now to Stop Most Extreme Abortion Bill Ever

Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

September 20, 2021

Congress is about to vote on the most radical abortion bill of all time. The so-called “Women’s Health Protection Act” (H.R. 3755/S. 1975) would impose abortion on demand, at any stage of pregnancy. It would apply nationwide—even in states that don’t want it.

Even modest and popular pro-life laws at every level of government—the federal, state, and local level—would be on the chopping block. This includes parental notification for minor girls, informed consent, and health or safety protections for abortion facilities.

It would force Americans to pay for abortions here and abroad with their tax dollars.

It would also likely force health care professionals like doctors and nurses to perform, assist in, and/or refer for abortion against their deeply-held beliefs. Employers and insurers would be forced to cover or pay for abortion.

We need to tell the House NOW that this horrible bill must never be enacted. 

Join Archbishop Naumann in demanding the House oppose H.R. 3755/S.1975.

Check out the Archbishop’s letter and this fact sheet to learn more about what can be done to STOP this bill from becoming law.

Action Center

 

U.S. Bishop Chairmen Statement on Abortion Funding in Build Back Better Act

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021  Full Statement:  https://www.usccb.org/news/2021/us-bishop-chairmen-statement-abortion-funding-build-back-better-act

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce advanced portions of the reconciliation bill without removing abortion funding provisions or including the Hyde Amendment to prohibit taxpayer funding of abortion. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, issued the following statement following markup of the Build Back Better Act by the two House committees.

“Catholic bishops have been strong advocates for proposals at both the federal and state level that ensure all people will have access to affordable healthcare, including Medicaid expansion proposals. We are encouraged by several healthcare provisions in portions of the Build Back Better Act that will improve healthcare coverage for those in need, including enhanced postpartum coverage and other investments to address the high rates of preventable maternal deaths in the United States, expanded access to in-home care for family members, support for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and pre-release Medicaid coverage for returning citizens.

“However, the legislative text advanced by the two House committees also funds abortion, the deliberate destruction of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters - those in the womb. This cannot be included. Congress can, and must, turn back from including taxpayer funding of abortion, in the Build Back Better Act. We urge all members of Congress and the Administration to work in good faith to advance important and life-saving healthcare provisions without forcing Americans to pay for the deliberate destruction of unborn human life.”

On September 7, five USCCB chairmen wrote to Congress outlining their priorities for the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Reconciliation bill. In this letter, the bishops reiterated that if this bill expands taxpayer funding of abortion the USCCB would oppose it.

U.S. Bishops’ Chairmen Respond to House Vote to Force Taxpayers to Fund Elective Abortions

Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities
News Release:  July 30, 2021

U.S. Bishops’ Chairmen Respond to House Vote to Force Taxpayers to Fund Elective Abortions

WASHINGTON - Today, the House voted 219 to 208 in favor of H.R. 4502, a package of appropriations bills that currently excludes the 46-year-old Hyde Amendment and other longstanding, bipartisan provisions like the Weldon Amendment. Eliminating these provisions would force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions and would have the effect of forcing health care providers and professionals to perform and refer for abortion against their deeply-held beliefs, as well as forcing employers and insurers to cover and pay for abortion.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued the following statement:
“The House has voted in a way that is completely out of step with the will of the American people who overwhelmingly oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. The Hyde Amendment has saved at least 2.4 million lives since its enactment. Without it, millions of poor women in desperate circumstances will make the irrevocable decision to take the government up on its offer to end the life of their child.
“To be certain, this bill includes provisions that help vulnerable people, including pregnant moms. As we have said before, ‘being “right” in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life.’ In truth, ‘the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the “rightness” of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community.’[i]
“The injustice in HR 4502 extends to removing conscience protections and exemptions for healthcare providers who believe abortion is wrong, or whose faith drives them to serve and heal lives, instead of taking them.
“Funding the destruction of innocent unborn human lives, and forcing people to kill in violation of their consciences, are grave abuses of human rights. We call on the Senate to redress this evil in H.R. 4502, and for Congress to ultimately pass appropriations bills that fully support and protect human dignity, and the most vulnerable among us.”

 

NYS Catholic Conference 2021 End of Session Round Up

NYS Catholic Conference 2021 End of Session Round Up

The New York Sate Catholic Conference and the Office of Life Issues thanks you for your support of the NYS Catholic Action Network. The 2021 Legislative Session in Albany has adjourned, although lawmakers may return at some point this summer if agreement is reached on certain legislation.

Follow the attached link for updates on legislation of Interest.

https://www.nyscatholic.org/2021-end-of-session-round-up/

U.S. Bishops’ Pro Life Committee Chairman Denounces Reversal of Limits on Human Fetal Tissue Research

WASHINGTON – The National Institutes of Health announced last Friday that it is reversing limits on human fetal tissue research that were put in place by the Trump Administration. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement in response:

“The bodies of children killed by abortion deserve the same respect as that of any other person. Our government has no right to treat innocent abortion victims as a commodity that can be scavenged for body parts to be used in research. It is unethical to promote and subsidize research that can lead to legitimizing the violence of abortion. Researchers have demonstrated that we can do effective scientific research and develop efficacious clinical treatments without harvesting tissue from aborted babies. It is also deeply offensive to millions of Americans for our tax dollars to be used for research that collaborates with an industry built on the taking of innocent lives. I call on the Biden Administration to instead fund research that does not rely upon body parts taken from innocent children killed through abortion.”

Statement of the U.S. Bishops’ Pro Life Committee Chairman on Biden Administration’s proposed rule on the Title X program

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a proposed rule to reverse “The Protect Life Rule,” a regulation issued by the Trump Administration in 2019 to clearly separate abortion from family planning in the federal Title X family planning program. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued the following statement expressing profound disappointment over this action:

“This policy change will allow the Title X program to become an indirect funding avenue for abortion providers. In spite of explicit prohibitions in Federal law and clear congressional intent that abortion may not be a part of this program, it has repeatedly been coopted by abortion supporters as a funding stream for organizations, programs, and facilities that directly promote and provide abortions.

“While the USCCB has always had strong objections to government promotion and funding of contraceptives, we have also long supported clear financial and physical separation between Title X-funded projects and programs and facilities where abortion is a method of family planning. This proposed rule is terrible policy; it would reintegrate abortion into what is supposed to be a pre-pregnancy family planning program. I strongly urge the Biden Administration to suspend this proposed rule and leave the Title X program as it was intended and authorized to be – a program entirely separate from abortion.”

Statement