Bishop: Anti-FOCA Postcard Campaign Fulfills Christian Duty to Oppose Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 16, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Congress will soon receive millions of postcards from pro-life Americans across the country opposed to the FOCA bill. One bishop says those postcards, asking for votes against the so-called Freedom of Choice Act, fulfill the duty Christians have to "defend the least of these."
Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts is calling on the parishioners of all Catholic churches to participate in the campaign, taking place the weekend of January 24.
“See your signature on your postcard as your moral response to the words of Jesus that we will all hear on the day of our personal judgment, ‘I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me,’" McManus says.
The bishop tells the Catholic Free Press that FOCA must be strongly opposed because it would destroy decades of work pro-life advocates have done to limit abortions until the day comes human life is fully protected.
FOCA “would sweep away over 300 federal, state and local laws and regulations that have been passed to protect the life of unborn children,” he says.
McManus says the bill would be “far more radical” than the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision because it would take that decision and expand it to become federal law — allowing for unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason.
Furthermore, McManus tells the newspaper that Freedom of Choice Act would overturn the national partial-birth abortion ban and similar bans in every state.
He worries the FOCA bill would have such a far reaching effect that it would topple laws like parental consent and notification, informed consent, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion, and laws requiring an ultrasound before an abortion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Pro-life Activities and the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment are coordinating the postcard campaign.
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
