To use the smokescreen of abortion as an issue of health and fairness to poor women is the epitome of hypocrisy: Archbishop of San Francisco.
Newsdesk (July 24, 2021, 9:19 PM Gaudium Press). Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, at her weekly press conference on July 22, said that she supported a repeal of the Hyde Amendment because it is “an issue of health, of many women in America, especially those in lower-income situations and in different states.” Incredibly, Pelosi further cited her Catholic faith, saying that “as a devout Catholic and mother of five in six years, I feel that God blessed my husband and me with our beautiful family, five children in six years almost to the day.”
The real choice
The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone criticized Pelosi’s stance on the Hyde Amendment. In a statement issued by the Archdiocese he stressed, “Let me repeat: no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it. The right to life is a fundamental – the most fundamental – human right, and Catholics do not oppose fundamental human rights. To use the smokescreen of abortion as an issue of health and fairness to poor women is the epitome of hypocrisy: what about the health of the baby being killed? What about giving poor women real choice, so they are supported in choosing life? ”
The Archbishop explained that pro-life options would, “give fairness and equality to women of means, who can afford to bring a child into the world. It is people of faith who run pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics; they are the only ones who provide poor women life-giving alternatives to having their babies killed in their wombs. I cannot be prouder of my fellow Catholics who are so prominent in providing this vital service. To them I say: you are the ones worthy to call yourselves “devout Catholics”!
Opposition and support for the Hyde Amendment
The Hyde Amendment, was first enacted in 1976, three years after a decision that legalized abortion nationwide. It is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds (tax payers’ money) to pay for abortions, with a few exceptions. However, in order for the Hyde Amendment to take effect, it must be attached to individual appropriations bills.
A draft spending bill recently approved by the House Appropriations Committee will allow for federal funding of elective abortions in Medicaid, but it excludes the Hyde Amendment which would prohibit funding of most abortions in Medicaid.
Although, the U.S. bishops’ conference is circulating a petition in support of the pro-life policy and has called on lawmakers to preserve the Hyde Amendment, President Joe Biden did not include the Hyde Amendment in his budget request to Congress for the 2022 fiscal year.
(With files from CNA)
Related Images:
