Kathianne
07-05-2012, 09:45 AM
Seriously, did they not consider that over 50% of people are against abortion? Has been true for years. What were they thinking? It was not the bishops who waded into this, they'd supported Obama in last election; indeed they'd supported his health care reform, (though this was one of those, 'wait until it's passed moments):
http://www.rollcall.com/news/Effort-to-Overturn-Contraceptive-Mandate-Shifts-Focus-to-Bishops-Advocacy-215900-1.html?pos=hatxt
Effort to Overturn Contraceptive Mandate Shifts Focus to Bishops’ Advocacy
By Eliza Newlin Carney (http://www.rollcall.com/reporters/65.html)
A Catholic-led fight to overturn contraceptive mandates in the health care law has drawn big dollars, large crowds and prominent GOP backing, raising questions about how aggressively Catholic bishops might wade into politics.
A two-week “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops culminated July Fourth with a rally-style celebration that was expected to draw some 4,000 people to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The two-week campaign, organized on the ground by the Catholic Association, a group of lay Catholics, also featured TV and Web advertising, petitions aimed at Members of Congress and email and text messages to a million Catholics.
Joining in the effort were Conscience Cause, a group launched in April by two prominent Republicans that includes Catholics and non-Catholics, and Catholic Vote, a nonprofit and super PAC that backs presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and aims to spend $5 million or more in this election.
The Catholic bishops have also helped to organize a dozen lawsuits lodged by archdioceses around the country challenging the law’s mandate that health care plans include contraceptive services. Responding to critics, the Obama administration shifted the cost of coverage to insurers and wrote an exception for religious organizations.
But critics say the administration’s definition of a religious organization is too narrow and would force many religious schools, employers and charities to provide services that violate their religious beliefs. All told, 56 plaintiffs have filed 23 lawsuits challenging the Health and Human Services Department mandate, including three Protestant educational institutions.
“We have seen an incredible intensity on this issue,” said Maureen Ferguson, a senior policy adviser at the Catholic Association, which was founded in 2007 but relaunched itself this spring to focus on the contraceptive mandate.
Another new player is Conscience Cause, which promotes religious freedom for all denominations, potentially galvanizing non-Catholics on the issue. The group has gathered 6,000 signatures on a petition aimed at forcing a vote in Congress to rescind the reproductive health mandate...
http://www.rollcall.com/news/Effort-to-Overturn-Contraceptive-Mandate-Shifts-Focus-to-Bishops-Advocacy-215900-1.html?pos=hatxt
Effort to Overturn Contraceptive Mandate Shifts Focus to Bishops’ Advocacy
By Eliza Newlin Carney (http://www.rollcall.com/reporters/65.html)
A Catholic-led fight to overturn contraceptive mandates in the health care law has drawn big dollars, large crowds and prominent GOP backing, raising questions about how aggressively Catholic bishops might wade into politics.
A two-week “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops culminated July Fourth with a rally-style celebration that was expected to draw some 4,000 people to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The two-week campaign, organized on the ground by the Catholic Association, a group of lay Catholics, also featured TV and Web advertising, petitions aimed at Members of Congress and email and text messages to a million Catholics.
Joining in the effort were Conscience Cause, a group launched in April by two prominent Republicans that includes Catholics and non-Catholics, and Catholic Vote, a nonprofit and super PAC that backs presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and aims to spend $5 million or more in this election.
The Catholic bishops have also helped to organize a dozen lawsuits lodged by archdioceses around the country challenging the law’s mandate that health care plans include contraceptive services. Responding to critics, the Obama administration shifted the cost of coverage to insurers and wrote an exception for religious organizations.
But critics say the administration’s definition of a religious organization is too narrow and would force many religious schools, employers and charities to provide services that violate their religious beliefs. All told, 56 plaintiffs have filed 23 lawsuits challenging the Health and Human Services Department mandate, including three Protestant educational institutions.
“We have seen an incredible intensity on this issue,” said Maureen Ferguson, a senior policy adviser at the Catholic Association, which was founded in 2007 but relaunched itself this spring to focus on the contraceptive mandate.
Another new player is Conscience Cause, which promotes religious freedom for all denominations, potentially galvanizing non-Catholics on the issue. The group has gathered 6,000 signatures on a petition aimed at forcing a vote in Congress to rescind the reproductive health mandate...