As you reported on 12/12/12, "Governor Corbett announced...that Pennsylvania will not set up its own health insurance exchanges under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) [i.e., "Obamacare"]....The Catholic Church has long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system....Yet concerns raised during the health care reform debate about conscience protection and coverage of elective abortion are not resolved. Without a state exchange, Pennsylvanians who qualify will be enrolled in the federal exchange, which will cover elective abortions....If Pennsylvania had created its own exchange, it would have been able to opt out of this abortion coverage."
As per your report of 12/13/12: "it appears that a legislative remedy can be found to assure that the federally administered insurance exchange can exclude elective abortion coverage....Please click here to send a message to your representatives in support of legislation that removes taxpayer funded abortions from health insurance exchanges." That link sets up personalized emails for the governor, as well as an individual's state rep and state senator.
Your report of this morning links to a CNS article: "individual states can pass a law to opt out of abortion coverage if the state has decided not to set up its own insurance exchange program....the state Catholic conference, after consultation with its attorneys, believes the opt-out is possible [Obviously, this differs from your report of 12/12/12.]. The conference, which is the public policy arm of the state's bishops, is urging the Legislature to draft legislation for it, but nothing can happen until lawmakers reconvene in January [NOTE: Pennsylvania CAN hold a special session , BEFORE January.].
A look at recent history shows why we MUST demand a special session:
- Pennsylvania Senate Bill 3 was designed to prevent tax payer funding of at least some "Obamacare" abortions.
- After passing the Senate on 6/7/11, things looked good, provided that SB 3 passed the House and that Governor Corbett applied his promised signature.
- Instead of just running SB 3, an identical bill - House Bill 1977 - was put up in the House and passed on 12/12/11.
- Instead of reconciling SB 3 and HB 1977, it now appears that certain "pro life" legislators and our "pro life" governor played a shell game. Why would they do this?
- A 6/4/12 ACLU memo to its board of directors is telling: "Reproductive rights (HB 1077, HB 1977/SB 3, HB 2405): There has been little-to-no activity around these bills for months. HB 1077, the bill to mandate an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion, hit a wall when it was voted out of committee, and the resulting controversy may have crippled the chances of the bills to block insurance coverage of abortion in the exchange created by healthcare reform, HB 1977 and SB 3." Translation: After passing it, "Pro life" legislators got scared off from SB 3/HB 1977 by reaction to other pro life efforts.
- Leviticus 26: 36-38 provides a terrifying picture of what happens to our characters, when we act in cowardly, disobedient ways: "Those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies, I will make so fainthearted that the sound of a driven leaf will pursue them, and they shall run as if from the sword, and fall though no one pursues them; stumbling over one another as if to escape a sword, while no one is after them—so helpless will you be to take a stand against your foes! You shall perish among the nations, swallowed up in your enemies’ country."
Forthright reflection indicates that certain "pro life" legislators and our "pro life" governor have shown minimal - if any - respect for Catholics and other authentically pro life voices. Rather than giving them another opportunity for a shell game, we must challenge them and embolden them!
The week before Christmas provides an absolutely perfect time for us to demand that our Pennsylvania legislators and governor live up to their commitments with a special session for the House to vote on SB 3 and get it into Corbett's hands for a signature!
We need our bishops and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference to lead this charge!
Thank you,
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