Catholics for Choice Statement on Healthcare Reform Bill

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jon O'Brien, president of
Catholics for Choice, issued the following statement about the passage of HR
3962:

"Behavior in recent weeks tells us and the American voters a lot about core
values. We in the prochoice community stayed true to our core values, seeking
to overcome the struggles ordinary Americans have making ends meet. These
struggles mean that many cannot afford basic healthcare or have to choose
between maintaining their health and paying for other basic necessities. The
antichoice lobby, with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Office of
Prolife Activities at the helm, has shown that it is willing to stop at
nothing to ensure that its own views, which are shared by very few Americans,
held sway. This lobby, aided by the 64 Democrats who voted to insert unfounded
red herrings into a critical life-and-death debate over the basic right of
access to healthcare, exploited the vulnerabilities of the Democratic Party.

"This is only the first salvo in the bishops' campaign against women's health.
Just imagine for a moment what healthcare will look like when the bishops are
finished. There will be absolutely no access to abortion--even in cases of
rape or incest. Women will be detained in prison if it is thought they want to
travel abroad for an abortion. There will be no IVF. No contraception. No
treatment for ectopic pregnancy or medical anomalies during pregnancy. No
respect for your advance medical directives and no use of cures gained through
stem-cell research. There will be nothing that doesn't meet the myriad litmus
tests prescribed by a small group of men who don't represent American
Catholics, let alone the America populace.

"We hope that, as this struggle continues, Congress realizes that those who
want to destroy the possibility of meaningful healthcare reform may have
employed good lobbyists, but ultimately the voters will take down all those
who betray the needs of the people for short-term political gains. President
Obama was elected just one short year ago on a prochoice ticket. If the
electorate sees that a woman's right to choose is not a core value but simply
a bargaining chip to be laid on the table when the going gets tough, there
will be a price to pay.

"We call on the Democratic leadership and all of our elected representatives
to put forward healthcare reform that can be endorsed by the American people,
not just the US bishops."

SOURCE Catholics for Choice

Agnes Sokol of Catholics for Choice, +1-202-986-6093