Top Catholic Cardinal Says 'No Way' Catholic Members of Congress Can Support Senate Health Care Bill That Funds Abortion

A top Roman Catholic cardinal told CNSNews.com that there is “no way” Catholic members of Congress can support the Senate health care reform bill as long as it includes a provision that allows tax dollars to go to insurance plans that cover abortion.

At the National Press Club on Nov. 20, CNSNews.com asked Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia: “The Senate health care bill that Majority Leader Reid released this week permits tax dollars to go to insurance plans which cover abortion. And my question is: Would it be a mortal sin for a Catholic member of Congress to vote for this bill knowing that this provision is in it?”

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Video: Interview with Dr. Bernadine Healy on ObamaCare

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air interviews  Dr. Bernadine Healy, the Health Editor for US News and World Report, about the efforts by Democrats to reform the American health-care system.  Dr. Healy is uniquely positioned to offer analysis on this topic; she served on two Presidential task forces on science and health during the two Bush administrations, ran the National Institute of Health (the first woman to have held that position), and served as president of the Red Cross.  Dr. Healy is also a cancer survivor herself, giving her a well rounded view of the American delivery of health care and the critical need for patient choice.

Go here to watch the interview.

Health Care Support Drops to Below 40 Percent After Senate OKs Pro-Abortion Bill

cross-posted from A Catholic View

The level of support for a health care bill has plummeted to below 40 percent for the first time in a new Rasmussen poll. The numbers showing health care support at its lowest levels all year come after the Senate on Saturday approved a bill that contains massive abortion funding and other pro-life concerns.

Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, the Rasmussen survey indicates.

With 56 percent now opposing the pro-abortion plan, that is the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls Rasmussen has conducted since June.

Half the survey was conducted before the Senate voted late Saturday to begin debate on its version of the legislation. Support for the plan was slightly lower in the half of the survey conducted after the Senate vote, the polling firm indicates.

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Health Care Bill Moves Toward Senate Debate

Sweeping health care legislation cleared its first hurdle Saturday in the Senate on a party-line vote, paving the way for debate on a massive health insurance overhaul.

The 60-39 vote opens the door for debate on the $848 billion legislation to start after Thanksgiving. The measure is designed to extend coverage over six years to an estimated 31 million Americans who lack it and crack down on insurance industry practices that deny benefits.

The White House released a statement saying, "The president is gratified that the Senate has acted to begin consideration of health insurance reform legislation. Tonight's historic vote brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reining in spiraling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance and extending quality health coverage to those who lack it. The president looks forward to a thorough and productive debate."

The rare Saturday session amounted to a first round in the fight to pass the bill in the full Senate, where Democratic holdouts announced they would support at least the measure to open debate on the bill, avoiding an early knockout by Republicans.

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Senate health vote set for Saturday night

ACTION NEEDED: Contact Your Senators!

This is insanity. None of them have even read, or plan to read, this 2,074 page bill that will put us trillions in debt. And they're ramming it through as quickly as possible.

Senate Democrats have cleared the way for a Saturday night vote to begin the healthcare debate, a Democratic aide said.


Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has agreed to relent on his demand for Senate clerks to read aloud the 2,074-page bill and allow the chamber to take a critical test vote, said the aide. Reading the bill on the Senate floor was estimated to take as many as 30 hours or longer, raising the possibility of the Senate staying in session into next week.

The agreement to dispense with time-consuming procedural hurdles means that lawmakers will be able to catch flights back to their home states later in the evening on Saturday or early the next morning. This comes as welcome news for aides and other congressional workers who wrestled with the prospect of the Senate extending its session until Tuesday or Wednesday.



The Senate will vote at 8 pm Saturday to cut off debate on a motion to proceed to the healthcare reform bill. If 60 senators support the motion, the chamber would automatically adopt the motion to proceed to the bill and then depart. The Senate would begin amending the bill after the Thanksgiving recess.


You can contact your Senators easily through one of these websites, or through the capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

http://stoptheabortionmandate.com/

http://www.usccb.org/action

http://www.senate.gov/

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cross-posted from A Catholic View

Obama's Double Cross on Abortion: Why is everyone so surprised?

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest developments regarding the health care bill:

On November 15, presidential advisor David Axelrod made it clear that President Obama opposes the Stupak amendment that bans abortion funding in the House’s version of the health care bill. The Senate has just completed its version, and it contains nothing like the language of the Stupak amendment. As reported today by AP, “On a controversial issue that threatened to derail the House legislation, [Senate Majority Leader] Reid would allow the new government insurance plan to cover abortions and would let companies that receive federal funds offer insurance plans that include abortion coverage.”

President Obama, after telling the public that he would not support a bill that provided federal funds for abortion (he was hailed by the bishops for doing so), is now championing a bill that would do just that. Moreover, he is pushing for legislation that the American people do not support: CNN posted survey results yesterday showing that 61 percent of the public is in favor of banning the use of federal funds to pay for abortion; only 37 percent favor it.

In other words, Obama has decided to renege on his promise, betray the bishops and defy the American people. Risky business given that today’s Rasmussen presidential tracking poll shows only 46 percent of voters approve of Obama’s performance. Worse, only 27 percent strongly approve and 41 percent strongly disapprove of the job he has been doing. Wait until the public learns about Obama’s double cross on abortion!

This doesn't surprise me one bit! Obama is a radical supporter of the culture of death and has been for as long as I can recall. He lied to the Pope, he lied to the Bishops, and he lied to the American people. I have been warning my readers about him for years. What surprises me is that anyone believed him in the first place.  After all, he is the "Abortion President".

A Foreshadowing of Healthcare Rationing

I was appalled when I heard this panel suggest that women wait until 50 to have a mammogram. It is well-known that mammograms are the best way for early detection of breast cancer. The good news is that Sebelius is quickly backtracking on this ridiculous advice. The bad news is that Obamacare would implement it as policy.

You've heard about those changing guidelines on breast cancer screening issued by a government advisory panel? Never mind, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday.

Amid an outcry from confused, angry women and physicians -- even the American Cancer Society objected to the changes -- Sebelius issued a statement Wednesday basically telling women to ignore what the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force had said. The USPSTF advises HHS, and its members are appointed by HHS.

“There is no question that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations have caused a great deal of confusion and worry among women and their families across this country," Sebelius said on Wednesday. She said she wanted to address that confusion "head-on."

"The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who make recommendations. They do not set federal policy and they don’t determine what services are covered by the federal government.

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cross-posted from A Catholic View