Friday, March 5, 2010

With pro-life amendment, US bishops would push for health-care approval

The US bishops' conference will push for the approval of sweeping health-care reform legislation if the current Senate bill is amended to include the pro-life language contained in the version passed by the House of Representatives.

President Obama and Congressional leaders of the Democratic Party have indicated that they will push for House approval of the Senate bill. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USSCB) has signaled that the Senate bill is unacceptable because it allows for abortion subsidies and fails to protect the conscience rights of health-care personnel.

However Richard Doerflinger, the assistant director of the USCCB pro-life office, told Politico that the bishops' conference would push for adoption of the Senate bill if it were amended to eliminate those problems, by adoption of the "Stupak amendment" approved in the House or a similar amendment.