Florida Catholic | Blogging In :: Day Begins With Legislative Briefing

DAY ONE | 03.11.08

Catholic Days begins with legislative briefing

JACQUELYN HORKAN | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

TALLAHASSEE | Lynda Henry Alexander woke up at 3 a.m. to prepare for a 5 a.m. bus ride from Miami that would get her to Tallahassee just in time for the opening of the 9th annual Catholic Days at the Capitol.

Alexander is the president of the Council of Catholic Woman at Christ the King Parish in southeast Florida community of Perrine.

“Christ the King has not participated in Catholic Days for many years, so we decided this year was a good time to start,” she said.

Alexander was one of a number of first-timers in the record crowd of 230 in attendance at the event, which began Tuesday, March 11, with a legislative briefing by the Florida Catholic Conference, the host of Catholic Days. The conference’s lobbying staff explained the following four priority items of legislation to the audience. They are:

• Ultrasounds at abortion clinics. In Florida abortion clinics are required to have ultrasound equipment but have no obligation to show an ultrasound image to a patient unless she specifically asks to see it. This law would require clinics to offer patients the opportunity to view the live ultrasound image. “Women patients should be completely informed whenever they undergo any surgical procedure,” said Sheila Hopkins, associate director for social concerns/respect life at the conference. Supporters of the bill hope that viewing an ultrasound image of their unborn babies will help persuade abortion-minded mothers to choose life.

• Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This program provides scholarship money to children in low-income families, which can be used to transfer to a private or parochial school. Currently the scholarship does not cover the actual cost of educating a student, which means the family, struggling to make ends meet, must make up the difference, or the school must subsidize the child’s education. “We’re asking lawmakers to close the gap between the amount of the scholarship and the cost of education,” said Larry Keough, the conference’s associate director for education.

• Parole for adolescent offenders: Florida abolished parole in 1983, when there were fewer than 10 adolescents in state prison. There are currently 713 inmates who were children when they tried as a adults. This proposal would implement an option for paroling inmates who were 15 or younger at the time of their offense, were adjudicated as adults and have served as least eight years of their sentence. “Children who have shown remorse and rehabilitation deserve a second chance,” said Hopkins.

• Prevention First Act: This bill purportedly attempts to increase the use of emergency contraception for victims of rape. It does so, say opponents, by removing abortion-related conscience protection for entities and individuals who treat these women. State law currently allows citizens to refuse to violate their religious or moral beliefs in matters relating to abortion, family-planning, end-of-life care and executions. “A conscience clause does not promote bigoted behavior, as some have suggested,” said Michael Sheedy, the conference’s associate director for health. “Rather it allows every citizen to participate freely in our pluralistic society.”

On Wednesday, armed with knowledge, Catholic Days attendees split up into delegations to visit their hometown lawmakers, urging the politicians to back the conference’s position on the four issues.

Mike McCarron, executive director of the conference, reminded the audience, “We enrich the process by virtue of our being involved in it. Keep that in mind.”

The duty and right of participation is a theme repeated among the attendees. Experienced Catholic Days delegates know that their message is not always appreciated.

“Fight for your right to be heard, but be respectful,” said Joan Crown, director of the archdiocesan respect life office and co-coordinator for the Miami delegation. “Talk to the aide if the legislator is not available. Sometimes God puts them in your way.”

As uniquely Catholic grass-roots lobbyists, McCarron told the group to rely on the divine. “Pray. You are the light of Christ while you are up here,” he said. “Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you in what you say and in what you learn.”

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Catholic Days begins with legislative briefing

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