With so much Stupak in the news lately, it's refreshing to see major developments over the past 24 hours in Catholic/Christian support for the health care reform bill.
First, from Catholic hospitals, as reported by WaPo:
A group representing Catholic hospitals Saturday rallied behind President Barack Obama's health care bill ahead of a House vote in which anti-abortion lawmakers could play a decisive role.
The chief executive of the Catholic Health Association, Carol Keehan, wrote on the group's Web site that although the legislation isn't perfect, it represents a "major first step" toward covering all Americans and would make "great improvements" for millions of people.
And next, a letter to Congress from a group of influential Catholic and evangelical leaders:
As Christians committed to a consistent ethic of life, and deeply concerned with the health and well-being of all people, we want to see health care reform enacted. Our nation has a rare and historic opportunity to expand coverage to tens of millions of people, make coverage more affordable for all families, and crack down on many of the most harmful practices of the health insurance industry.
Signers of this letter include the head of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Rev. Jim Wallis from Sojourners, a Catholic University official, a former officeholder in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a director at Sisters of Mercy, and over 20 others.
Both groups touch on the abortion issue, and basically allege that Stupak and his friends are 100% wrong.
From the Chief Executive of the Catholic Health Association:
Keehan said in an interview that she believes the approach now in the bill would work just as well to keep federal dollars from being used to pay for abortion.
"On the moral issue of abortion, there is no disagreement," Keehan said. "On the technical issue of whether this bill prevents federal funding of abortions, we differ with Right to Life."
The current legislation would allow private insurance plans operating in a new insurance marketplace to cover abortions, provided they do not use taxpayer funds. What makes that tricky is that many of the plans' customers would be receiving federal subsidies to help pay their premiums. So the legislation requires plans offering abortion coverage to collect a separate premium from their policyholders. Those separate checks would have to be kept in a different account from money for other health care services.
The cosigners of the letter to Congress are even clearer:
We believe that the provisions below provide extensive evidence that longstanding restrictions on federal funding of abortion have been maintained. Furthermore, this bill provides new and important supports for vulnerable pregnant women.
At this point, I think it's clear to anyone who's paying attention that those who are objecting to the bill over abortion are merely trying to change existing law in a way that makes it harder for women to obtain abortions. Their argument isn't about funding. It's about ideology.
It's good to see that those who want to advance the small-c catholic causes of brotherhood, compassion, and, yes, social justice are starting to back this bill with vigor.
We can't let the ideologues win.
TAKE ACTION
If you live in the districts of any of the potential Stupak allies (listed below), call your rep and let them know that we need and expect them to vote Yes. They should not let deliberate misinterpretation of the legislation get in the way.
Bart Stupak (D-MI) (202) 225 4735
Dale Kildee (D-MI) (202) 225-3611
Steve Driehaus (D-OH) (202) 225-2216
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) (202) 225-4146
Charlie Wilson (D-OH) (202) 225-5705
Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) (202) 225-6511
Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-PA) (202) 225-5406
Joe Donnelly (D-IN) (202) 225-3915
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) (202) 225-4636
Dan Lipinski (D-IL) (202) 225-5701
Jerry Costello (D-IL) (202) 225-5661
Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) (202) 225-7742
Henry Cuellar (D-TX) 202-225-1640
James Oberstar (D-MN) (202) 225-6211
Marion Berry (D-AR) (202) 225-4076
Update: A few of these representatives are already distancing themselves from Stupak's bloc (e.g. Kildee and Wilson), but it can't hurt to keep the heat on.
Contact info above, and other great resources, from Catskill Julie's very informative action diary a couple days ago.
For a great overview of why Stupak is wrong, see this Slate article.