Pressing those pressing life issues

editorial

Hundreds of Catholics turned out in Albany March 11 to lobby their state legislators on a variety of issues during the annual Public Policy Forum sponsored by the state's bishops.

Concern for the poor, especially in the wake of welfare reform; a demand for fairness in how Catholic schools are treated; a call for the protection of the rights of healthcare workers; and the continuing movement against casino gambling were among the issues discussed. So were two key pro-life issues: opposition to assisted suicide and to partial-birth abortion.

The latter is especially pressing right now, given activities occurring in both the State Legislature and in Congress. The day before the Public Policy Forum, the State Senate passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, 40-19. The next step is more difficult: to get the bill before the State Assembly without the sleight-of-hand used last year to defeat the measure. If the Assembly passes the ban, Gov. George Pataki has said he will sign it. At the national level, the House of Representatives is holding hearings on a partial-birth abortion ban, which it and the Senate passed last year, only to have it vetoed by President Clinton. Whether those two bodies can override his promised veto remains to be seen.

What also remains to be seen is how fervently individual Catholics throw themselves into this discussion by contacting their state and federal representatives. A year ago, when Congress debated partial-birth abortions, Catholics were noisy in their support of a ban. Indeed, most of America opposes the method, which involves partially delivering a child, stabbing her in the back of the neck, sucking out her brains and then collapsing her head. One of New York's U.S. senators, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who frequently votes against the pro-life side, called the process too close to infanticide to support.

Since then, a pro-abortion spokesman has admitted he "lied through my teeth" about the method when he said it was rare and used only in cases when the mother's life was endangered. In fact, it is used thousands of times every year on women and unborn children who are completely healthy.

Despite that admission, Mr. Clinton remains firm in his resolve to allow infanticide to continue. What will stop him is enough votes to supersede his veto; and what will produce those votes is informed pressure from Catholics and others.

Nor can those voices fall silent once they have achieved that goal. Physician-assisted suicide is being debated the world over and needs the input of Catholics before the elderly, sick and disabled become the next class of people to join the unborn as disposable members of society.

The Catholics who roamed the halls of the State Legislature on March 11 need the support of the remainder of us for their work to bear fruit in protection of life, guardianship of the rights of the poor and better education for children.

(03-13-97)

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