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Abortion fight more specific in new eraPosted: 01.30.09 A college student best summed up the mood of the day. On the Metro, Washington’s subway system, a small group of University of Notre Dame students headed back to the parish in Virginia where they spent the nights before and after the March for Life. They seemed energized by the march, but concerned. One young man noted that in past years, when President George W. Bush would call in to the gathering with a message in support of the cause, it was enough for the marchers to focus on simply overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that essentially legalized abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. This year, however, with a new administration in the White House, the battles will be “more specific” he said – fighting FOCA (the Freedom of Choice Act), which would eliminate restrictions on abortion such as parental notification, the partial-birth abortion ban or conscience clauses; preventing federal funding of abortions in the United States, currently limited by the Hyde Amendment; and preserving a ban on U.S. funding for family planning services to agencies that provide abortions or referrals for abortions, commonly known as the Mexico City policy. The cause for concern was not necessarily overstated, as President Obama by executive order reversed the Mexico City policy the day after the March for Life, in a move called “very disappointing” by the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pro-life office, said when many pro-choice advocates, including the new president, say they want to reduce abortions, it does not make sense to provide funding for abortions in family planning policies. “That will increase abortions.” Doerflinger said this is borne out by statistics from the Guttmacher Institute – which is connected to the pro-choice camp, so they cannot dispute the results – that the average rate of abortions for women on Medicaid is doubled if they live in a state that funds abortion through Medicaid. Currently, federal funding of abortions has been restricted, but that could change, either with passage of FOCA or repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which keeps federal tax dollars from providing abortions. According to a nationwide survey commissioned by the USCCB, four out of five Americans would outlaw abortion altogether or limit it in some form. If that’s the case, why should we be paying for it? In his speeches over the past several weeks, Obama has said he will search for the common ground between his party and the Republican Party on many issues. In his inaugural address, he called for Americans to work for the common good and toward a common purpose. But one homemade sign at the March for Life pointed out the error in his thinking: “Mr. President, FOCA is not common ground.” Ironically, in his statement after rescinding the Mexico City policy, the president said, “It is time that we end the politicization of this issue. In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world.” “Life: Imagine the Potential”On a day in Washington when women stood on the steps of the Supreme Court to say they regretted their abortions and men whose children had been aborted testified that they regretted their lost fatherhood, the message was simple: A child in the womb is not a potential life, but a life with potential. That message is driven home with a 40-second ad from CatholicVote.org, a project of the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy. The first spot in the “Life: Imagine the Potential” series features an ultrasound of a fetus, and talks about the struggles one child’s mom encountered as the father left the family and she raised the child on her own. The ad aired on BET on Inauguration Day, and has had nearly 600,000 views on YouTube as of press time. Obviously, the child in reference, who was born when his mother was 18, is Barack Obama, the same man who said last year that if his daughters “make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby; I don’t want them punished with an STD at the age of 16.” This will be, as Dierdre McQuade of the bishops’ pro-life office said, a “season of vigilance.” The pro-life movement is not just fighting Roe v. Wade, but a host of battles. The call to action is more urgent than ever.
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