Spitzer abortion proposal slammed

BY JAMES BREIG
EDITOR

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops on matters of public policy, issued a statement this week lambasting a pro-abortion proposal put forward by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The statement was issued on Jan. 22, the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion in all 50 states and through all nine months of pregnancy.

"New York's citizens find human life under renewed attack," said the Catholic Conference, "this time through a radical bill proposed by Gov. Spitzer."

Abortion trends

Kathleen M. Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the Catholic Conference, said, "There is much good news to report on the pro-life front.

"Nationally, abortions have fallen to their lowest rate since 1976, as more people, particularly young people, are taking a fresh look at abortion and seeing not empowerment for women but the killing of a generation of babies.

"Most Americans are slowly coming to terms with what our society has wrought, and they are turning away from this horrific 'choice.'"

Spitzer's bill

But, Mrs. Gallagher continued, "many abortion advocates look at the lower abortion rates and, rather than rejoice at lives saved, see a threat. Gov. Spitzer has acted aggressively to make abortion even more available and common than it already is, while stomping on the rights of religious providers like Catholic hospitals."

She was referring to "his euphemistically titled 'Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act,' which would raise abortion to the level of a fundamental right, like the freedom of speech, and would therefore prohibit virtually any restrictions at all.

"This bill would ensure the easy availability of late-term abortions of fully formed infants, even if there was no threat to a woman's physical health, and allow non-doctors to perform abortions."

Bill's effects

Mrs. Gallagher said that Gov. Spitzer's proposed bill "would prohibit 'discrimination' regarding the right to abortion to such an extent that Catholic hospitals could be forced to provide abortions or lose their license to operate.

"It would prohibit parental notification, expand the over-the-counter availability of the morning-after pill to children of any age and force all insurers to cover abortion for any reason."

She continued, "In many ways, this intolerable bill is more radical than the original state law legalizing abortion nearly 40 years ago. It would potentially force the closure of Catholic healthcare institutions and undoubtedly lead to the deaths of countless unborn children who otherwise might have had a chance at life.

"No matter what Mr. Spitzer calls his bill, clearly it is not about reproductive 'health.' On the contrary, this bill is about death, and it must be rejected."

(01/24/08)