Sen. Nelson’s Abortion Sell Out
Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska speaks at a black church
I’m with Jill Stanek and Kathryn Jean Lopez. Sen. Nelson’s compromise on abortion is no compromise. According to the AP,
On abortion, the measure would let a state disallow coverage in new insurance exchanges by passing a law to that effect. Additionally, it sets up a mechanism to segregate funds that would be used to pay for abortions from federal subsidy dollars flowing to health plans.
Federal law now prohibits public money for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. From the beginning, the issue has been how those restrictions would be applied to a new stream of federal money under the overhaul bill.
Nelson’s settlement is a glorified version of the Capps amendment. Its only redeeming feature is that states can vote to ban indirect government funding of abortion. Which some states – a dozen? a few dozen? – will do. But that’s little consolation. The Senate bill expands federal funding of abortion, if indirectly.
Pro-lifer’s best bet is obvious: lobby like hell in the House and make sure those pro-life Dems who signed on to Stupak’s amendment stay in line.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment
T/S Members
Log in with your True/Slant account.
Nelson is an abortion
You “men” and especially, you Catholic “men” don’t get it. It’s all about the unborn. Not the thousands of children born into poverty without a snowball’s chance in hell in ever climbing above it… What really made me laugh out loud was the Nazi Pope who thinks condoms cause AIDS. WTF? I guess the “Church” needs anyone they can get these days…. even people who really don’t think on their own are hip to the lies of the Catholic Church. I was even raised a Catholic….Good thing my Father, after total disgust with the Catholic Church, regarding their stance on the Viet Nam War, quit going. I learned a lot from him. He was on the side of humanity, not the greediness and communist hating Catholic Church…..and they’re still up to their tricks! Jesus Christ would laugh in the face of all those pedophiles talking about sex and abortion rights!
Comments like those of Molly Flannery’s are such a staple of anti-Catholic bigotry (voiced even by those raised Catholic) that they deserve to be knocked down or acknowledged.
Except for one point, I don’t think she has much of a leg to stand on.
She implies that caring for the unborn and caring for the poor are mutually exclusive. Has she not heard of the work of Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day, the Josephites, or the Church more generally?
She suggests that Pope Benedict is an ignoramus and religious nut because of his opposition to condoms. So why did Harvard researcher Edward C. Green find that increased condom did nothing to stop the AIDS epidemic in Africa? (The keys, he found, were abstinence and fidelity, which were promoted in countries such as Uganda).
She states that the Catholic Church had one position on the Vietnam War. Certainly many US Church leaders supported the war. But plenty of nuns and priests didn’t, as they let anti-war demonstrators use church basements to prepare for their protests.
The Church has had a problem with pedophiles, child abusers, and their ilk. There’s no denying that.
In response to another comment. See in context »Mr. Stricherz,
Regarding your comment on my comment, I assure you I know the works of Mother Theresa (even her going to Ireland on behalf of the Pope to disuade the miserably married Catholics, that divorce goes against God)and her stance on birth control. She’s wasn’t for it. Although she saw countless, starving children with no chance, she still believed it was wrong to use birth control. So, please don’t lecture anyone on her virtues. As for Dorothy Day, she is actually one woman who definitely deserves a medal…..and, not a religious one made of bones or teeth of dead people. She had an abortion and talked about it. She helped the poor and believed in birth control. I subscribe to the Catholic Worker because I see those people as the true heroes….. I stated in my first comment that my Father was a strong influence in my life….he had nuns and priests who were against the Viet Nam war for friends. So, I do know there were many Catholics who opposed it. But, not the really “important” ones….like the Pope and his cronies. I think the Catholic Church should be held accountable for many things. I think parents who raise their children today in the Church should be charged with mental and emotional child abuse. And, by the way, Nelson has taken money and lots of it for his vote. Abortion doesn’t seem to matter when it’s going to aid him in his egotistical advancement. Your charismatic Catholicism is out of date. I’m an agnostic and if I had a religion, at all, it would be to the beauty and wonder of Science which is learning more and more of the real mysteries of the universe and our place in it.
Ms. Flannery,
I’m glad to hear of your appreciation for Dorothy Day, but your description matches her outlook BEFORE her conversion to Catholicism in 1927. After she converted, she opposed not only abortion but also birth control. As she wrote of her hippie followers, “This whole crowd goes to extremes in sex and drugs …. Also it is a complete rebellion against authority, natural and supernatural, even against the body and its needs, its natural functions of child bearing.”
My Catholicism isn’t charismatic. It’s orthodox, or I hope it is. You say that parents who raise their kids in the faith should be charged with neglect. So would you press charges against the parents of Cesar Chavez, Eunice Shriver Kennedy, or Archbishop Romero?
As for the pope and the hierarchy’s support for the Vietnam war, do you really think that Lyndon Johnson was going to listen to them if they had? I don’t.
Overall, your comments suggest to me that your heart is angry, not just at the church but also people. I know what it’s like to feel alienated from others. May I suggest you spend a weekend at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter and witness firsthand the beauty and dignity of God’s children?
In response to another comment. See in context »“So, please don’t lecture anyone on her virtues.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Catholic opposition to birth control and abortion flies directly in the face of its good deeds–in many instances, it negates them. As you skillfully point out. When someone holds to a position that can’t be defended, I suppose the only possible response is an ad hominem one (re “angry”).
Besides, anger is a rational response to irrationality….
In response to another comment. See in context »I meant, the Catholic Church’s opposition, not Catholic opposition. A sentence revision gone wrong….
In response to another comment. See in context »It never ceases to amaze me that anytime someone speaks out against the atrocities of the Catholic Church, that person is angry. I guess a lot more people should get angry and realize how they’re being duped. I know there are many in the Church who are on the front lines helping those who desperately need help…but, the top dogs in their gold palaces, are the ones really running the show. And, they have NO idea what’s going on. I wish you a Happy Holiday, Mr. Stricherz, and, hope you have a wonderful New Year.
Here is an interesting read:
http://tinyurl.com/25yppw
Rife with hypocrisy!
Wow. I knew she wasn’t quite what she pretended to be, but… yikes!
Rick Warren and Co. are mere amateurs.
In response to another comment. See in context »Careful there, Savio….. Your anger is showing.
In response to another comment. See in context »Ha! Yes, I’d better calm down.
In response to another comment. See in context »