I am going to "borrow" this from my other sister-in-law (Laura), who "borrowed" this from my other sister-in-law (Catherine) b/c it is so important!!! Thanks for reading...
Monday, January 19, 2009
from a friend...
Dear Friends,
I'm writing to let you know about a terrible piece of legislation called "The Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA).
FOCA would establish the right to abortion as a fundamental right (like the right to free speech) and wipe away every restriction on abortion nationwide.
It will eradicate state and federal abortion laws that the majority of Americans support and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.
Please read the expert analysis by Americans United for Life (AUL) and sign the Fight FOCA petition at:
http://www.FightFOCA.com
**Quick addition: What do you think about this??? I haven't had a chance to completely research this yet, but I'm curious what you all think.
Thank you!
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6 comments:
While I agree with you that FOCA is a bad piece of legislation and I hope it never makes it out of committee, I have to point out that it would not neutralize every piece of abortion law nationwide. FOCA deals very specifically with abortions before fetal viability and when the life or health of a mother is at serious risk. Things like partial-birth abortion bans which deal with abortion after the fetus has already become viable would not be wiped out.
More horrifically to me FOCA threatens freedom of conscience laws that have previously protected doctors and hospitals from performing abortions when they are morally opposed (for example Catholic hospitals.)
There is plenty to be horrified at in FOCA but its important that we are accurate when we attack it, or else we start to lose our credibility.
Martha - I agree completely that is imperative that we, as Christians, get the facts right when we argue points like this.
A couple points i'd like to make (I'm no expert on FOCA). Quotes come from the wikipedia page Freedom of Choice Act.
1 - "The bill is described by NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan as a bill to "codify Roe v. Wade" which would "repeal the Bush-backed Federal Abortion Ban," referring to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, "and other federal restrictions," - sounds bad to me
2 - FOCA "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health." - how do we define "her health" - i have heard people say that it should apply to mental health - i think that will be used as a copout where physical health is in no way threatened, and I definitely believe the physical life of the unborn trump any real or perceived threat to the mental health of the mother.
Cheers,
Philip
Yes, the "mother's health" loophole is big enough to drive a truck through and I absolutely agree with you that mental health is the obvious cop-out. I also agree with you that one person's life is more important than another person's mental health.
I think Wikipedia or NARAL are wrong about the partial-birth abortion ban, but if not even more reason why this is a bad piece of legislation.
Jen- want to tag off of your first comment... along the lines of the freedom of conscience laws.. non-profit organizations like the Crisis Pregnancy Centers would also be endangered. For people who stand for LIFE at the moment of conception, the "Freedom of Choice Act" doesn't really seem to have much "Choice" at all, does it?
That would truly be a shame when crisis pregnancy centers provide such a vital service. Even a "pro-choice" individual ought to see the value in providing confidential pregnancy tests, counseling and concrete assistance to women in difficult situations. Personally I see them as the absolute most important part of the fight against a culture of abortion, even more so than outlawing abortion.
Hey, I hope my original post didn't come off as disrespectful. sometimes I can be argumentative.
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