The Stupak amendment to the current health care reform bill has been a very large topic of discussion recently. Some see it as a poison pill meant to force enough Democrats to vote against the bill, killing health care reform. My bishops (and I say "my" because I am a church-going Catholic who has no intention of abandoning the Church), let me tell you what you must do to prevent being a tool of the corporations and Republicans who oppose reform that can save lives and that is, I believe, in keeping with Church teachings on social justice.
Right now, forces are marshaling in the Democratic Party to oppose any bill that contains the Stupak amendment. This is made easier for liberals to do because the current health care reform bill is weak compared to progressive demands.
The best way to break this block, while also keeping true to our faith, is to make the bill much more liberal in other ways. Specifically, I speak of the desire to have the so-called "robust" public option which would pay health care providers at a rate of Medicare compensation plus five percent.
My challenge to you bishops is this: use your lobbying power to get the votes necessary in the Senate to pass a more progressive public option. If you promise that and can deliver, you have bargaining power to keep the Stupak-Pitts language in a health care bill. The more liberal Democrats will have a much harder time opposing such a bill. Enough will cave in and vote for a robust public option containing the Stupak amendment.
You must target enough Senators to pass a robust public option and even more Senators to agree to vote for cloture, even if they won't vote for the bill itself. If you can get those votes, you can negotiate a Senate vote on the Stupak amendment if not outright inclusion in the bill at the onset. There are several Catholic Senators you can lobby, Democrats like Mary Landrieu and Bob Casey, Jr. and Republicans like George Voinovich and Susan Collins. There are also non-Catholic pro-life Senators who may be open to arguments.
If you get that far, then you need to get organizations such as the National Right to Life Committee to score a vote for an overall health care reform bill as a vote opposing abortion, putting more pressure on Republicans to break party ranks and vote for the bill just as Joseph Cao of Louisiana did in the House after the Stupak amendment was passed.
If you truly care about people, but need to remain steadfast on a pro-life stance, then this is a path you can take that promotes a consistent life ethic.