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Another Catholic mobilization under way on abortion in health reform
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In the thousands of pages that make up the Affordable Health Care for America Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the House- and Senate-passed versions, respectively, of health reform legislation, the word "abortion" only comes up a few dozen times. But as congressional leaders work to hammer out an agreement on health care reform, a key player in the U.S. bishops' lobbying efforts thinks an insistence on expanding abortion funding in this country could sink the reform movement that the bishops have encouraged for decades. "It's a high-risk strategy" for Democratic leaders in Congress to work behind closed doors to reconcile the House and Senate health reform bills, Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, told Catholic News Service Jan. 11. If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid present a bill that has not been debated openly and say, "Take it or leave it," Doerflinger added, "Congress may leave it." Throughout the process, Catholic leaders have been clear that they want to see the U.S. health system reformed but not in a way that expands abortion funding or leaves too many people behind. "It's very difficult to figure out even what's going on" in the reconciliation process, Doerflinger said. "We hear very little about what's getting worked out."
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