Is the Obama Administration anti-Catholic or just inflexibly pro-abortion?
A contentious battle between Catholic groups and the Obama administration has flared in recent days, fueled by the new health care law and ongoing divisions over access to abortion and birth control.
The latest dispute centers on the Department of Health and Human Service’s decision in late September to end funding to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to help victims of human trafficking, or modern-day slavery. The church group had overseen nationwide services to victims since 2006 but was denied a new grant in favor of three other groups.
The bishops organization, in line with the church’s teachings, had refused to refer trafficking victims for contraceptive or abortion services. The American Civil Liberties Union sued and HHS officials said they made a policy decision to award the grants to agencies that would refer women to those services.
The bishops conference is threatening legal action and accusing the administration of anti-Catholic bias, which HHS officials deny.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the USCCB has more here.
November 2nd, 2011 | 11:14 am
I thought Sister Keehan and the catholic Health Association took care of all this?
November 2nd, 2011 | 1:45 pm
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November 3rd, 2011 | 8:25 am
Thanks for posting about this. In case it might be of interest, I speculate about the effect that the law suit may have had on the policy decision here:
http://clrforum.org/2011/10/30/constitutional-pressure-points/
One thing I do not know is whether the ACLU will continue to press the suit in Massachusetts. It seems to me that the suit would be moot at this point, but from what I gather, the ACLU wants to continue. Perhaps they are looking for some kind of categorical statement that going forward, the government cannot award contracts to religious organizations which impose religious conditions.
November 4th, 2011 | 9:53 pm
The Clinton Administration was inflexibly pro-abortion. The Obama Administration is inflexibly pro-abortion *and* anti-Catholic.
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