Thursday, February 19, 2009

De-Debunking a FOCA Myth   [Ramesh Ponnuru]

Amy Sullivan writes in Time that Catholic bishops are mobilizing against a "mythical abortion bill." The Freedom of Choice Act is "mythical" because it hasn't been introduced in this Congress. So it will only be  proper to mobilize against it when it's moving through committee? Odd standard.

She writes that the bill "would essentially codify the Roe v. Wade decision by saying the government can't place limits on abortions performed before viability." Actually, the bill would go well beyond Roe (and Roe itself goes beyond that description). It would invalidate parental-consent laws, state bans on taxpayer funding of abortion, and other pro-life policies that the courts have allowed.

Sullivan also writes, "While the USCCB's literature about FOCA has been generally accurate, the chain e-mail has disseminated a number of false claims, including warnings that the proposal would force Catholic hospitals to shut down and lead to at least 100,000 more abortions each year." That FOCA would lead to "at least 100,000 more abortions each year" is not a "false claim." It's a guess, and not an implausible one. Taxpayer funding of abortion tends to increase its incidence.

02/19 06:15 PMShare