If you’re a fan of “Catholic Connection” host Teresa Tomeo, you won’t want to miss the 2009 PA Pro-Life Conference in Scranton October 24th. Tomeo will be giving a special talk on “Lighting the Way for Life Through the Mainstream and Christian Media.” She’ll be offering tips on how you can ensure that the pro-life message is heard through broadcast media as well as through social networking websites. To register for the conference, please go to our homepage at http://www.paprolife.org/ and click on the “Lighting the Way for Life” icon. You can also register by phone at 717-541-0034.
Education Director Maria Vitale is scheduled to be on “Catholic Connection” with host Teresa Tomeo Tuesday, September 29th at 9:15 a.m. They’ll be talking about our inspiring PA Pro-Life Conference, which will take place October 24th in Scranton. To register for the conference and/or banquet, please visit our homepage at http://www.paprolife.org/. To listen to Maria live on “Catholic Connection,” go to http://www.avemariaradio.net/ .
Pro-life amendments to prevent “death spiral musical chairs” are being offered in response to the health care reform bill designed by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). The amendments would fix a provision that penalizes Medicare doctors who offer a higher level of care to senior citizens.
“This provision creates a cruel death spiral. By financially penalizing Medicare providers, the Baucus bill sets up the cruelest and most effective way to ensure that doctors are forced to ration care for their senior citizen patients,” said David N. O’Steen, Ph.D, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee.
The amendments would delete the provision that would mean that Medicare doctors who authorize treatments for patients that end up in the top 10 percent of per capita cost for a year will lose 5 percent of their Medicare reimbursements for that year.
“It’s like a game of musical chairs, in which there is always one chair less than the number of players – so no matter how fast the contestants run, someone will always be the loser when the music stops,” O’Steen added.
For more background information, visit http://www.nrlc.org/.
We need to continue to appeal to our Senators to stop abortion in health care reform. According to National Right to Life Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, the most recent health care bill designed by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) is plagued by a variety of pro-abortion mandates and subsidies.
Please call the offices of Senators Casey & Specter with this message: “I urge the Senator to oppose any health care reform bill that does not specifically exclude abortion.” Senator Casey’s number is 202-224-6324. Senator Specter’s number is 202-224-4254.
For updated background information on this critical issue, please visit http://www.nrlactioncenter.com/ .
Now that fall is almost here, enthusiasm is growing for our fantastic statewide pro-life conference, to be held October 24th at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center in Scranton. We’ve got an incredible lineup of speakers, including national broadcaster Teresa Tomeo; Terri Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler; former Attorney General of Kansas and pro-life hero Phill Kline; and Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council, among others. Now is a great time to register for the conference, before it’s sold out. You can register conveniently online at http://www.paprolife.org/ by clicking on the “Lighting the Way for Life” icon. See you in Scranton!
Please tune in on Saturday, September 19th to listen to Greg Barton, News Director at WDAC Radio, interview Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Executive Director, Michael Ciccocioppo, regarding health care reform and other important pro-life issues. The public affairs program, “Spotlight” will air on two Christian radio stations:
From 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. it will air on WDAC,
You may also listen at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, on the Internet by visiting www.wdac.com, then clicking “Listen Online Now” and then clicking “THE VOICE.”
Unfortunately, the long-awaited bill designed by the chairman of the Senate Finance committee contains mandates for abortion. As Douglas Johnson, legislative director of National Right to Life, states:
“The ‘America’s Healthy Future Act,’ proposed…by Senator Max Baucus (D-Mt.), contains an array of pro-abortion mandates and federal subsidies for elective abortion. National Right to Life strongly opposes the legislation in its current form. We will work in support of amendments to eliminate the abortion mandates and federal abortion subsidies.”
The Baucus bill would mean huge government subsidies for private insurance plans and government-chartered cooperatives that pay for abortion. Those Americans who enroll in subsidized plans would be assessed a surcharge to financially support abortion.
Please call Senators Casey and Specter and urge them to oppose any health care reform bill that does not specifically exclude abortion. Casey’s number is 202-224-6324. Specter’s number is 202-224-4254.
Working together, we can stop abortion funding in health care reform!
Congress could vote as soon as late September on health care reform legislation. It is critically important that we contact our Senators and Congressional Representatives to stop abortion funding in health care reform. While President Barack Obama and Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have claimed that no federal dollars will be spent on abortion, current legislation does, in fact, mean federal funding of abortion. We know that pro-abortion advocates are contacting their Congressmen, so it is crucial that pro-life Pennsylvanians call their Congressional offices right away.
Action Item #1: Call the offices of Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter with this message: “I urge the Senator to oppose any health care reform plan that does not specifically exclude abortion.” Senator Casey’s number is 202-224-6324. Senator Specter’s number is 202-224-4254.
Action Item #2: Pennsylvania Congressional Representatives Kathy Dahlkemper, Mike Doyle, Tim Holden, Paul Kanjorski, and John Murtha earlier this year were among Congressional Democrats who signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that they could not accept a health care reform bill unless it specifically excluded abortion. If you live in the districts of these Congressional Representatives, please call them with this message: “I would like to thank the Congressman (woman) for signing the Stupak letter against government funding of abortion in health care reform. I am urging the Congressman (woman) to stand firm on that commitment and to oppose any health care reform plan that does not specifically exclude abortion.” You can reach the Representatives through the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Action Item #3: If you live in another Congressional district, please call your Congressional Representative with this message: “I urge the Congressman (woman) to oppose any health care reform plan that does not specifically exclude abortion.” You can reach the Representatives through the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121. If you do not know who your Congressional Representative is, e-mail us at lifelines@paprolife.org with your zip code and we will identify your Representative for you.
Thank you so much for making these critical calls! The lives of many preborn children and the well-being of their mothers hang in the balance!
The latest issue of the PA Pro-Life Online News is posted at http://www.paprolife.org/resources/e_news.html . There, you’ll find an important legislative alert on health care reform, a call to register for our inspiring pro-life conference, and information about a first-of-its-kind fundraiser in Washington, PA. Happy reading!
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius claimed on ABC’s “This Week” that there would be no public funding of abortion in health care reform.
However, National Right to Life’s Legislative Director, Douglas Johnson, says that “for months the president, his staff, and his congressional allies have misrepresented actual language in their bills that would result in government funding of elective abortions.”
“The latest statements by Mr. Obama and Ms. Sebelius are most likely a continuation of their strategy of denial, evasion and distortion,” Johnson added. “We say, watch what they do, not what they say.”
Please continue to call Senators Casey and Specter and your Congressional Representative, urging them to oppose any health care reform bill that does not specifically exclude abortion. For up-to-the-minute background information, visit http://www.nrlactioncenter.com/.
The Hill is reporting that a pro-life Democrat says he’ll block health care reform–unless an amendment is approved which will stop abortion funding in the health care package.
Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan also told CBN News, “”If you don’t give us our vote, everything’s off the table.”
Despite what President Obama has said, federal funding of abortion will occur under health care reform–unless there’s language in the bill specifically excluding abortion. That’s why we need you to call Senators Casey and Specter and tell them to oppose any health care reform bill that does not specifically exclude abortion. Senator Casey’s number is 202-224-6324. Senator Specter’s number is 202-224-4254.
For more information, visit http://www.nrlactioncenter.org/.
From a Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation press release:
President Barack Obama is misleading the American public by claiming that no federal dollars will be used to pay for abortions under his health care reform plan.
“It’s time to stop playing word games,”said Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the
For decades, the Hyde Amendment, named for the late pro-life Congressman Henry Hyde of
“Unless abortion is specifically excluded from the health care reform plan, federal funding of abortions will occur—something that national public opinion polls show that the vast majority of Americans oppose,” Ciccocioppo said.
For a complete explanation of why health care reform in its current form results in federal funding of abortion, visit http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLCmemoFederalFundsnotPrivateFunds.html .
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Fox News is reporting that beleaguered President Barack Obama seeks a game-changer in his health care address before Congress. The August recess brought opposition to his health care plan to the fore, and now the President seeks to change the course of the debate.
As Fox News reports, the President has stated:
“I’m open to new ideas,” he said in an interview for broadcast Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in which he previewed the themes of his speech. “We’re not being rigid and ideological about this thing.”
If the President wants to prove that his Administration is not being rigid and ideological, he will ensure that the health care reform plan that he signs specifically excludes abortion. Anything short of that will clearly demonstrate that the pro-abortion lobby is in charge of the White House.
Do your part now to stop abortion from being paid for by means of health care reform. Visit http://www.nrlactioncenter.org/ to send a message to Congress. Preborn babies and their mothers are counting on you!
Now that Congress is back in session, it’s important to send a message to Washington that we don’t want public funding of abortion under health care reform. Please call your Congressman, along with Senators Casey and Specter, and urge them to vote against any health care reform plan that does not specifically exclude abortion. Senator Casey’s number is 202-224-6324. Senator Specter’s number is 202-224-4254. National Right to Life has produced an in-depth policy statement explaining why the health care reform plan before the House of Representatives, HR 3200, would result in public funding of abortion. You’ll find this helpful piece here. For more information about how to stop the abortion agenda in health care reform, please go to http://www.nrlactioncenter.org/.
Some Congressmen are claiming that the Hyde Amendment, named for the late Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, would stop taxpayer funding of abortion under health care reform.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
As National Right to Life notes:
Since the Hyde Amendment applies only to funds appropriated through the annual HHS appropriations bill, the Hyde Amendment will not apply to any of the funds used to establish or operate either the “public option” or the premium-subsidy program created by H.R. 3200. Members of Congress who assert that the Hyde Amendment would prevent federal government funding of abortions under H.R. 3200 are misleading their constituents, in some cases perhaps inadvertently and in other cases perhaps by design.
For a full explanation of why the Hyde Amendment simply doesn’t apply to health care reform legislation, please see http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/NRLCmemoHydeAmendmentWillNotApply.html.
To do your part to stop abortion from being part of health care reform, go to http://www.nrlactioncenter.com/.
Reports have surfaced that President Barack Obama is retooling his health care reform message. LifeNews.com, for instance, is running a report indicating that Obama is revamping his strategy with respect to the much-criticized health care reform proposal. Meanwhile, we need to keep up the pressure on Congress to vote against any health care reform plan that does not specifically exclude abortion. Please call your Congressional Representative, along with Senators Casey and Specter, with that key message. For more background info on health care reform, please visit http://www.nrlactioncenter.com/. With your help, we can ensure that babies and their mothers are protected.
The latest installment of our one-minute radio commentaries, Pro-Life Notes, is available here. You’ll find info on how to stop abortion from being part of health care reform, why you need to attend our pro-life conference October 24th in Scranton, and the passing of a pro-life hero. If you’d like your local radio station to carry Pro-Life Notes, please have the program director e-mail lifelines@paprolife.org so that we can add the station to our e-mail distribution list.