Cardinal George Lauds House Action to Ban Federal Funds for Abortion; Promises Vigilance as Senate Pursues Health Care Reform, Wary About Affect on Poor, Elderly

Cardinal George Lauds House Action to Ban Federal Funds for Abortion; Promises
Vigilance as Senate Pursues Health Care Reform, Wary About Affect on Poor,
Elderly

House action backs President Obama's promise to not expand abortion

Senate must follow House example

Bishops still concerned for poor, elderly

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cardinal Francis George of
Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, lauded
the November 7 decision of the U.S. House of Representatives to block federal
health care reform money from paying for elective abortions.

In a statement issued November 9, two days after the Saturday night decision,
Cardinal George voiced thanks that "the Representatives honored President
Obama's commitment to the Congress and the nation that health care reform
would not become a vehicle for expanding abortion funding or mandates."

"The Conference will remain vigilant and involved throughout this entire
process to assure that these essential provisions are maintained and included
in the final legislation," he added.

"We remain deeply concerned about other aspects of health care reform as the
debate now moves to the Senate, especially as it affects the poor and
vulnerable, and those at the beginning and end of life. We will continue to
insist that health care reform legislation must protect conscience rights. We
support measures to make health care more affordable for low-income people and
the uninsured. We remain deeply concerned that immigrants be treated fairly
and not lose the health care coverage that they now have," he said also.

The full statement follows.

Over the weekend, the US House of Representatives advanced major legislation
to provide adequate and affordable health care to all. The Catholic Bishops
of the United States have long advocated that adequate health care be made
available to everyone. In an essential step, the House voted overwhelmingly
to reaffirm the longstanding and widely supported precedent that no federal
funds will be used to pay for elective abortions. In doing so, the
Representatives honored President Obama's commitment to the Congress and the
nation that health care reform would not become a vehicle for expanding
abortion funding or mandates. The Conference will remain vigilant and involved
throughout this entire process to assure that these essential provisions are
maintained and included in the final legislation. We will work to persuade the
Senate to follow the example of the House and include these critical
safeguards in their version of health care reform legislation. We also thank
the members of the House who took this courageous and principled step to
oppose measures that would force Americans to pay for the destruction of
unborn children, and the Democratic leadership for allowing the
Representatives to vote on this amendment that protects the common good.

In the national discussion on how to provide the best kind of health care, we
bishops do not claim or present ourselves as experts on health care policy.
We are not prepared to assess every provision of legislation as complex as
this proposal. However, health care legislation, with all its political,
technical and economic aspects, is about human beings and hence has serious
moral dimensions. Our focus is on the concrete realities of families with
children and their access to doctors, the poor and the elderly, those with
limited means and those with few or even no means, such as the mother carrying
a child in her womb. Our Catholic commitment to health care picks up the
pieces of our failing system in our emergency rooms, clinics, parishes and
communities. This is why we believe our nation's health care system needs
reform which protects human life and dignity and serves the poor and
vulnerable as a moral imperative and an urgent national priority.

We remain deeply concerned about the debate that now moves to the Senate,
especially as it will affect the poor and vulnerable, and those at the
beginning and end of life. We will continue to insist that health care reform
legislation must protect conscience rights. We support measures to make
health care more affordable for low-income people and the uninsured. We remain
deeply concerned that immigrants be treated fairly and not lose the health
care coverage that they now have. We will continue to raise our voices in
public and in prayer; we ask our people to join us in making the moral case
for genuine health care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences
and health of all.

Keywords: abortion, Cardinal Francis George, bishops, House of
Representatives, health care reform, conscience, immigrants

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, office:
+1-202-541-3200, home: +1-301-587-4762