Your Excellencies:
As per the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference,
- "Senate Bill 732 passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by a vote of 151-44 on Tuesday, December 13....it was again passed in the Senate (32-18) in concurrence with the House. The bill awaits the governor’s signature. The new law addresses concerns that stemmed from a tragedy that occurred in the Philadelphia abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell where a woman died and seven newborn babies were killed by infanticide. Conditions in the clinic were so filthy and unsafe that investigators called it a 'house of horrors.' The measure holds abortion facilities to the same fire and safety standards, personnel and equipment requirements, and quality assurance procedures as other freestanding ambulatory surgical facilities. The passage of this bill into law is a victory for women and children in Pennsylvania."
Perhaps naively, many thought that SB 732's application of common sense health standards to abortion facilities - especially in light of the grand jury report on Kermit Gosnell & his associates - would find quick and easy consensus. Yet 44 members of the Pennsylvania House & 18 members of the Senate actually voted AGAINST final passage of SB 732. In the Pennsylvania Senate, 4 of the 18 whom the Pa Legislature's web site indicates to have voted against final passage of SB 732 identify themselves as Catholic :
- Lisa M. Boscola (18) of Bethlehem; boscola@pasenate.com
- Jay Costa, Jr (43) of Pittsburgh; costa@pasenate.com
- Wayne Fontana (42) of Pittsburgh; fontana@pasenate.com
- Charles 'Chuck' T. McIlhinney, Jr (10) of Doylestown; cmcilhinney@pasen.gov
With regard to the Pennsylvania House, it appears that 2 of the 44 whom the Pa Legislature's web site indicated to have voted against final passage of SB 732 identify themselves as Catholic :
- Eddie Day Pashinski (121) of Wilkes-Barre; Epashinski@pahouse.net
- John Sabatina, Jr (174) of Philadelphia; jsabatin@pahouse.net
(Subsequent to an earlier email, it was brought to my attention that Rep Brendan F. Boyle (170) of Philadelphia, Dante Santoni, Jr (126) of Reading and Jesse White (46) of Cecil voted for final passage of SB 732. I apologize for that earlier error.)
As per the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference,
- "On Monday, December 12, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 146 to 45 to remove abortion funding from the state health care exchanges that will be created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)....House Bill 1977 now goes to the state senate. This bill is similar to Senate Bill 3, which passed 37-12 in the Senate earlier this year, and has been sent to the house."
In other words, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 45 members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly voted AGAINST HB 1977. Isn't that tantamount to a vote to make you pay for other people’s abortions? This group of 45 included 7 who are identified as Catholic:
Please consider whether it has become "necessary for the bishop to publicly say something" (Archbishop Chaput,7/19/11), out of concern for elected officials' souls and for the common good.
Sincerely,
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