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Obama's New D.C. Budget Would Fund Abortions


Washington D.C., Jun 30, 2009 (CNA).- President Obama has issued a budget recommendation for the 2010 fiscal year that would ease the restrictions on taxpayer funds for abortions in Washington D.C., a change that has drawn criticism from pro-life organizations across the nation.

Unlike other U.S. states and territories, the budget for the District of Columbia is reviewed and modified by Congress and the President before it is approved.

In its submission for the fiscal year 2010, the Obama administration has reversed the “Dornan Amendment,” introduced in 1988 to prevent both federal and local tax dollars from funding abortions in the District of Columbia, except in cases of rape or “where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.”

Under the Obama administration's alterations, the prohibition will only apply to federal tax money, and the exemptions would be expanded to include any case “where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness,” including those physical conditions that endanger the life of the mother.

The recommended change has raised strong concerns among pro-life groups.

“The Dornan Amendment is commonsense policy that should be retained by Congress,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, a network dedicated to supporting pro-life women in the political process.

Dannenfelser joined the House Pro-Life Women’s Caucus in speaking out against the change at a news conference last week. “Women facing unplanned pregnancies deserve woman-centered solutions to help both mother and child, not abortion on-demand, which pits mother against child in the most tragic of circumstances,” she said.

“We won't find reductions in abortion as long as we continue to subsidize and promote it at taxpayers' expense,” she continued. “The Obama administration's promise to find ways to reduce abortion numbers rings hollow in such an environment.”

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nation’s largest pro-life organization, issued a statement calling the move a “political scam.”

"President Obama is pursuing a step-by-step strategy to expand access to abortion, and today's step is to urge Congress to authorize the funding of abortion on demand in the nation's capital, with funds appropriated by Congress," said Doug Johnson, legislative director for the NRLC.

"If Congress goes along with the Obama proposal, the predictable result will be tax funding of several thousand elective abortions annually, including roughly 1,000 abortions annually that would not otherwise occur," Johnson explained, pointing to studies showing that policies barring tax-funded abortions actually prevent at least one-third of the abortions that would otherwise occur among given populations.

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Recent Press Release

Colorado Bishops express disappointment over President Obama’s decision to lift restrictions on federally financed human embryonic stem cell research.

 

We are deeply disappointed to learn of President Obama’s decision, via executive order,
to lift restrictions on federally financed human embryonic stem cell research.


President Obama’s support for embryonic stem cell research is filled with moral
complications and will further erode respect for the dignity of all human life.


Embryonic stem cells derive from the living bodies of human embryos. The embryos are
killed by the process; thus this type of research involves the wrongful destruction of
innocent, developing life. Human dignity can never benefit from this kind of lethal
exploitation. To destroy human embryos for research purposes implies that some lives
have more value than others, and that we may sacrifice some lives today so that future
generations will benefit. This kind of reasoning is inherently dangerous. Whatever
President Obama’s intentions, it is not morally acceptable to do evil hoping that good
may eventually result from it. Read More

A Pro-Life Prayer For Our President And Public Officials

Baby with TearLord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life,

 

Move the hearts of all our public officials and especially our President, to fulfill their responsibilities worthily and well to all those entrusted to their care.

 

Help them in their special leadership roles, to extend the mantle of protection to the most vulnerable, especially the defenseless unborn, whose lives are threatened with extermination by an indifferent society.

 

Guide all public officials by your wisdom and grace to cease supporting any law that fails to protect the fundamental good that is human life itself, which is a gift from God and parents.

 

You are the Protector and Defender of the lives of the innocent unborn. Change the hearts of those who compromise the call to protect and defend life. Bring our nation to the values that have made us a great nation, a society that upholds the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

 

Mary, the Mother of the living, help us to bear witness to the Gospel of Life with our lives and our laws, through Christ, Our Lord.

 

Amen.

 

Imprimatur:

January 22, 2009

Most Reverend Robert J. Baker

Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama

Library Highlight

Dignitas Personae, an Instruction on ethical issues arising from biomedical research, was published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 12 December 2008. The Instruction defends the life of unborn human beings, created in the image of God, and provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation in our scientific age. View Document

Religious Catalogue Pro-Life Resources- View More from Religious Catalogue

Being Human DVD BEING HUMAN: 40 DAYS FOR LIFE - DVD Defending Life DEFENDING LIFE 2006 - DVD
This program focuses on the everyday, ordinary people who - by relying on Christ - help save lives from abortion through prayer and activism. Includes interviews with three volunteers: a businessman, a mother and a college student. Features expert commentary. 30 min. Fr. Frank Pavone examines the pro-life movement and ways to end abortion. Ideal for viewing and discussion in local church, school and political groups. (Warning: Some segments include graphic material.) 4 discs. 6½ hrs.

 

Life After Death: David Alton examines the true cost of laws that were heralded as the pathway to the liberation of women and social justice. This book and many other Pro-Life Resources are available in our Religious Catalogue.

 

See Below For More Pro-Life Resources Being Human: 40 days for Life • Defending Life • Ending Abortion

Multimedia

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Prayer for the Unborn

Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.

 

Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.

 

Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well as theirs - made for eternal life.

 

Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother can give.

 

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.