Defund Planned Parenthood, the so-called "Fairness Act, " and Religious Liberty

Defund Planned Parenthood - NOT One Dime

•  As per the Pennsylvania Family Institute, "the Administration, following what can only be described as a cursory review of Planned Parenthood abortion sites in Pennsylvania, stated that the organization’s hands are clean in the burgeoning nationwide scandal involving the gruesome procurement and trafficking in the remains of unborn children aborted in Planned Parenthood clinics....the taxpayers of Pennsylvania can have no confidence that Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration can or did conduct a fair and thorough probe, given his close ties with Planned Parenthood before, during and after his campaign for Pennsylvania Governor." Email all of Bucks County's representatives and senators in Harrisburg, to urge a moratorium on monies for Planned Parenthood.

• While Senator Toomey deserves praise and Senator Casey deserves criticism for recent votes on S. 1881 (In the House, Representative Fitzpatrick is NOT a co-sponsor of HR 3301.), many believe the real key to stopping Planned Parenthood is in the budgeting process.  In a 7/29/15 letter, 18 members of the U.S. House pledged ''that we cannot and will not support any funding resolution — an appropriations bill, an omnibus package, a continuing resolution, or otherwise — that contains any funding for Planned Parenthood, including mandatory funding streams.''  Some "pro life" representatives and senators have been fearful of being blamed for a government "shutdown."   Email Representative Fitzpatrick, Senator Casey, and Senator Toomey, to urge them to get on board with a moratorium. 

 

 

HB 1510/SB 974, the so-called "Fairness Act"

• HB 1510/SB 974, the so-called "Fairness Act" is the renumbered version of HB 300/SB 300.  This past January, Rep Dan Frankel (D) and Rep Chris Ross (R) had announced that "In the near future, we will re-introduce legislation to prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression [Please see the web site of the Human Rights Campaign, for insight on how these terms have come to be used.].  This legislation is identical to House Bill 300 introduced last session"
• The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference warned that HB 300/SB 300 would "jeopardize many churches and their charitable outreach if they continue to adhere to their religious beliefs.  In other states, this law has closed Catholic adoption agencies and violated religious liberty. HB/SB 300 could mean that Catholic agencies would no longer be able to make our contributions to the common good of Pennsylvania without violating our religious beliefs....Simply put, this legislation is intolerant and prejudiced against people of faith."
• HB 1510/SB 974 is receiving a surprising amount of support among legislators who identify as Catholic or who have received Catholic schooling. From Bucks County, Representatives Steve Santarsiero (D), Tina Davis (D) John Galloway (D), Scott Petri (R) Marguerite Quinn (R), and Kathy Watson (R) are among the 84 co-sponsors of HB 1510.  While Galloway identifies as Catholic, the others have studied at Catholic schools (i.e., Santarsiero, MEd, Holy Family; Davis, Bachelors, LaSalle; Petri, JD, Villanova; Quinn, BA, St Joseph's, and Watson (studied at Villanova).).  Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R), who identifies as Catholic, is among the 26 co-sponsors of SB 974.
• "Stand for true tolerance: oppose Senate Bill 974 and House Bill 1510" (Pa Family Council).

  Religious Liberty

• As per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802, S. 1598) would bar the federal government from discriminating against individuals and organizations based upon their religious beliefs or moral convictions that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. The Act provides broad protections against adverse federal actions directed toward individuals and organizations that act on such beliefs."  Representative Fitzpatrick is NOT among the 145 co-sponsors of HR2802; NEITHER Senator Casey NOR Senator Toomey are among the 36 co-sponsors of S1598.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has an alert for contacts to Fitzpatrick, Casey, and Toomey, re: the First Amendment Defense Act (HR2802 / S1598): http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/make-a-call?0&engagementId=113753
• As per the USCCB, "Urge Congress to Reauthorize the US Commission for International Religious Freedom."

Alerts, Alerts Central, NCHLA, and Justice for Immigrants

• To aid us in applying the commandments to our modern world, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference offers "alerts" and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers "Alerts Central."  The USCCB notes that "Action alerts for pro-life issues can also be found through our partner organization, the "National Committee for the Human Life Amendment" (NCHLA), and that "Action alerts for issues related to immigration reform can be found through the USCCB-led Catholic coalition, "Justice for Immigrants."