As a liberal, a deep skeptic of major political parties, and a doubter on the efficacy of a bill that will take years to sink in and take effect, I have to confess it is a relief to see insurance reform passed tonight.
That said, it might be time to sew up the rifts among Catholics. The bill is passed, so it’s time to make sure abortions get stopped one at a time. Whatever and however it takes to persuade and support people who are on the fence regarding their pregnancies.
The real sifting of the pro-life movement will happen with the opportunities to work together on essential things: locally, politically, in the ecclesial sphere–everywhere. I’m hopeful we’ll see an end to whining and blame in some quarters, and a redoubled effort to overcome the hermeneutic of subtraction. Am I dreaming?
Update: Let the whining begin … begin … begin … begin …
21 March 2010 at 10:06 pm
Your post here seems very reasonable.
In the end, funding of abortion (which I do not believe the bill will increase) is an incredibly small part of our national healthcare budget, and it wouldn’t have been fair to vote for (or against) this bill based solely on one’s beliefs about abortion.
Today, we tackled healthcare. Tomorrow, we can tackle abortion.
22 March 2010 at 1:26 am
And the millions of dollars going to Planned Parenthood are going to kill tens of thousands because of this bill.
there is no reform. there is only more government interference and involvement in our lives.
22 March 2010 at 2:41 am
John
Bush gave a huge increase of funding to PP during his era. Why was there no outcry, calling him a baby killer for it?
22 March 2010 at 2:42 am
Todd
I wish Catholics could work together. The sad thing is that we have many people who get their ethics via political parties. They don’t want to see the other Catholic as a Catholic — they want to excommunicate the other. I wish this were not the case. Just look at what is going on with Stupak– his “fans” sure showed him where they really stood.
22 March 2010 at 5:54 am
Bush gave a huge increase of funding to PP during his era. Why was there no outcry, calling him a baby killer for it?
IOKIYAR
22 March 2010 at 6:45 am
Todd:
It would be nice if we could all get along and sew up those rifts.
But I fear it won’t happen, because reconciliation must be based in truth, and the truth about this bill is not being told:
The Obamacare bill will lead to federal funding of abortion: settled law makes it inevitable.
Furthermore, the Executive Order is worthless.
I explain why over at my blog, Thrown Back:
http://thrownback.blogspot.com/
I’m currently working on a post that will make a few predictions about the outcome of this fiasco.
22 March 2010 at 7:14 am
Fr Rob, I think you might suffer from certain fixations here. I would love to hear what you think “is not being told” about this bill, because I think I’ve seen every argument against it. There’s a problem with speaking, being listened to, and being disagreed with … then assuming the problem was that nobody heard so one speaks louder.
The truth is that the concerns of the bill’s opponents were overcome by the good. The vote is taken. The bill passed. Personally, I think it was a mistake because the bill didn’t go far enough. But it’s time to move on, because the central pro-life truth is that mothers are still aborting.
My suggestion is to refrain from predictions and punditry, roll up sleeves and volunteer at Birthright. No need to imitate the sore losers of the GOP.
22 March 2010 at 10:16 am
Todd wrote:
The truth is that the concerns of the bill’s opponents were overcome by the good.
Could you explain what you mean by that?
22 March 2010 at 3:02 pm
Yeah, that phrase is a bit vague. I’d say that the concerns about the bill were, in some minds, overcome by the good it intends to do in reforming health insurance.
My prediction is that we might see a slight uptick in abortion rates because of the economy, but by 2013, I’d be sure we’ll be back in decline.
Volunteered at your local Birthright, yet, Fr Rob?
23 March 2010 at 6:29 am
Todd, I’ll be more optimistic than you and say that this bill will have a major, near immediate downward effect on the abortion rate.
Just the fact that women 25 and younger will be allowed to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan is a major, major pro-life victory.
22 March 2010 at 7:12 am
Every Western industrialized nation with universal health care has a lower rate of abortions than the United States, including countries that provide government funding for abortions. It’s only in the US that universal health care is seen as a socialist plot that will increase abortions.
22 March 2010 at 10:13 am
Jason wrote:
Every Western industrialized nation with universal health care has a lower rate of abortions than the United States, including countries that provide government funding for abortions.
And almost every Western industrialized nation also has more restrictive abortion laws than the U.S. For example, it is much more difficult to get an abortion in Germany and France than it is here, and the “window” within which an abortion can be sought is much narrower. Indeed the U.S. is nearly unique in having abortion-on-demand for the entire term of the pregnancy.
22 March 2010 at 11:13 am
Not so… Canada, which is actually worse.
22 March 2010 at 5:17 pm
You might find this map useful: http://tinyurl.com/ybhe8ae
23 March 2010 at 6:36 am
Father Rob, would you please compare and contrast the abortion laws in the U.S. and France for us?
As far as I can tell, they are virtually identical.
22 March 2010 at 2:03 pm
No, it’s time to get the bill repealed.