Bob Laird
Monday, January 30th, 2012
By Bob Laird
As we move closer to the November presidential elections, it is becoming clear that the increasing violations of religious liberty by the Obama administration will be the defining issue for Catholics.
Following the January 24 announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has affirmed its controversial ruling which mandates that almost all employer health plans fully cover contraception, sterilization procedures and abortion-inducing drugs, Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan expressed outrage that both the U.S. Constitution and the clearly expressed position of the Church were being ignored by an out of control administration. In this unprecedented confrontation between the Roman Catholic Church and the federal government (see video), Archbishop Dolan called on Americans to bring the issue to their elected officials.
In agreement with Archbishop Dolan, Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, argued (here and here) that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s claims of “balance” between considerations of religion and Planned Parenthood ideology were absurd. Sebelius’s refusal to adequately weigh the concerns of religious organizations leaves the only remaining recourse to be the federal courts or the November elections.
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Tags: Archbishop Timothy Dolan, HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama
Posted in Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Election 2012, Feature Post, Politics, Politics and Faith, Truth and Charity Forum | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Could President Obama modify the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ruling that requires health insurance plans to cover contraception and sterilization at no cost? Will he broaden the current miniscule religious exemptions? His recent meeting with Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was perceived by some as a crack in the administration’s position on the HHS ruling, prompting a call to the White House by the Pro-Choice Caucus and panicked calls for action by Planned Parenthood. Given the administration’s history of faithful allegiance to its pro-abortion base, any shift in position following Archbishop Dolan’s visit will occur only if is calculated that such a move will win him votes next November.
President Obama’s pro-abortion agenda has been evident since the day he took office. The list of his achievements is extensive, but some of the more significant actions include reversing the Mexico City Policy and restating his support of Roe v. Wade within days of his inauguration; his meaningless executive order that caused Reps. Bart Stupak and Kathy Dahlkemper, along with other “pro-life” Democrats, to vote ObamaCare into law; the HHS ruling that gutted sections of conscience protection rules reflecting current U.S. law; the aforementioned HHS contraceptive mandate (including some whose effects include causing chemical abortions); and the elimination of all Catholic organizations from receiving federal contracts that require “comprehensive reproductive health care.”
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Tags: Archbishop Timothy Dolan, HHS, President Obama, USCCB
Posted in Abortifacients, Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Election 2012, Feature Post, Politics and Faith, Truth and Charity Forum | 5 Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Catholics have much at stake in the 2012 elections. The hostility of the Obama administration toward the Church is becoming more and more evident, proving it to be anything but Catholic-friendly. President Obama’s continued support for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s top abortion provider; his flagrant disregard and opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); his mandating birth control and sterilization in Catholic health plans; and his trashing of the conscience rights of medical practitioners all show a consistent pattern.
When the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed dismay and concern about the administration’s actions (including a letter to President Obama by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the Conference President), they were ignored by the administration. As a result, the USCCB has established a special committee to discuss this dismantling of religious liberties.
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Tags: Faithful Citizenship, HHS, President Obama, USCCB
Posted in Bob Laird, Election 2012, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 6 Comments »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Looking closely at the actions of the Obama administration, it is becoming difficult to find any evidence of their awareness of the constitutional limits of the executive branch, or even a hint of prudential concern about executive overreach. Last month, prior to his “jobs speech,” President Obama directed several cabinet agencies to prepare contingency plans to move forward on projects that can be done without the approval of Congress. These plans included projects completely funded by the federal government in the areas of infrastructure, education, and agriculture.
Earlier this summer, the Obama administration sought ways to achieve its immigration reform policy by bypassing congressional approval. A memo prepared for Alejandro N. Mayorkas, a director in the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, listed ways the government could grant permanent resident status to tens of thousands of people, and delay the deportation of others, potentially indefinitely.
At a recent rally of supporters, President Obama shouted “darn tooting” back at a supporter who asked if contraception was to be included as preventative health care – as if it were a “done deal,” even though the formal process of comment review was still taking place.
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Tags: ACLU, HHS, Planned Parenthood, President Obama, sex trafficking, USCCB
Posted in Bob Laird, Culture of Life, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 5 Comments »
Monday, October 17th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Sandwiched between this year’s presidential proclamations in honor of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day was their antithesis, one celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. In the former, the White House declared, respectively, that “[m]others are the rocks of our families and the foundation in our communities;” and “we honor the men in our lives who have helped shape us for the good, and we recommit to supporting fatherhood in our families, in our communities, and across our Nation.” In the latter announcement, the president proclaimed his desire to see that “all people can live with dignity and fairness under the law.”
At first glance, these three statements do not appear to be in conflict as long as “the law” is enforced. But during the same month, President Obama announced his administration’s intentions to “ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation” to complement his administration’s previous announcement to work toward eliminating the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) through executive orders and in the courts.
In the strongest letter of his brief tenure as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop Timothy Dolan called on President Obama and his administration to stop violating the law by actively lobbying against DOMA. The archbishop did not mince words, stating that the administration’s actions do not “stand the test of common sense,” and that unless rolled back, such actions would “precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions and to the detriment of both institutions.” He further wrote that Obama needs to “push the reset button” on DOMA. To do otherwise, “ignores the will of millions of Americans who have voted in favor of state constitutional versions of the law.”
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Tags: Archbishop Dolan, DOMA, Planned Parenthood, President Obama
Posted in Bob Laird, Feature Post, Homosexual Unions, Marriage, Family & Sexuality, Truth and Charity Forum | 6 Comments »
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
By Bob Laird
In the movie, The Scarlet and the Black, Gregory Peck plays Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, a real-life Vatican official who taunted the Nazis by leaning over their line of demarcation, separating Vatican territory from Nazi-occupied Italy, as they watched him through the lens of a rifle scope. The Nazis would kill him if he crossed the line because he was housing Jewish refugees and was stymieing Nazi efforts to consolidate their power in Rome. In spite of the threat, he continued to covertly conduct his business throughout Rome.
Fast forward to the 21st century where Archbishop Charles Chaput arrives in a large and influential but scandal-plagued archdiocese, in a city known for its entrenched liberal political machine. An outspoken evangelist in an otherwise genteel environment of east coast Catholicism, Archbishop Chaput may not have a bounty on his head, but he is sure to face strong opposition for his unique brand of strong, but charitable, orthodox teaching.
Case in point: upon his arrival, the Philadelphia Inquirer immediately accused him of having a “disproportionate focus” on abortion. His response: “What you see is pretty much what you get!”
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Tags: Archbishop Charles Chaput, Gospel of Life, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, Philadelphia
Posted in Bob Laird, Culture of Life, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Catholic hospitals have long been essential to compassionate and effective health care in the United States. Today, serving nearly one-sixth of all hospital patients with “significantly better quality performance” than secular not-for-profit institutions, Catholic health care stands as the largest single delivery system of health care in the U.S. Unprecedented and drastic changes in health care services proposed by the current administration now bring into question the future of these institutions.
The 636 Catholic hospitals in the United States together provide over 28 million in-patient days and 102 million outpatient visits each year. These hospitals have served the nation for over 200 years in spite of the fact that the Church has for all essential purposes been increasingly marginalized and her moral teachings rejected.
The rift between prevailing cultural mores in the U.S. and the moral teachings of the Church became a chasm following the January 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and the divide has been growing ever since. The American Catholic bishops immediately attempted to overturn Roe via a constitutional amendment protecting human life. Simultaneously, Congress attached a series of amendments to funding legislation, e.g., Church and Hyde-Weldon Amendments, protecting the rights of Catholic health care systems and medical personnel to operate without compromising their religious beliefs and principles.
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Posted in Abortion, Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 5 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
By HLI America Fellow Bob Laird
Continuing its policy of forcing the “full range of legally permissible gynecological and obstetric care” into every federally funded program, the Obama administration has found yet another opportunity to exclude many faith-based agencies from competing for federal grants.
A recent request for grant proposals issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that “preference will be given to grantees that will offer all victims referral to medical providers who can provide or refer for family planning services and the full range of legally permissible gynecological and obstetric care.”
The victims in question are young boys and girls who have been sold as slaves in the sadly exploding industry of human trafficking. An organization that serves those victims but is unwilling to provide these services or referrals may still apply for a grant; however, “strong preference [will be given] to applicants that are willing to offer all of the services and referrals delineated” within the project objectives.
Read the whole article at The Washington Times.
Tags: abortion, contraception, Health and Human Services, Planned Parenthood
Posted in Abortion, Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 15th, 2011
By Bob Laird
Backlash continues to mount against the August 1 decision by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to mandate that contraception be fully covered as “preventive” medicine by insurance companies – and thus, “free” for consumers. While most of the criticism has thus far revolved around the lack of real conscience protections for religious employers and the fact that the decision relegates pregnancy to a disease to be prevented, an additional consequence is coming to light which raises serious ethical questions: pharmaceutical companies will now be paid full price for contraceptives that they previously had to provide at a discount due to federal regulations.
How did that happen? In an effort to entice college students to establish method and brand loyalty, pharmaceutical companies were offering reduced pricing on contraceptives to college campus health clinics. Prior 2005, however, Federal cost-control regulations were in place that forced these companies to sell their products to college clinics at the same price at which they sold to one of their largest buyers, Medicaid. In his book, Obamanomics, Timothy Carney explains that in 2005, President Bush signed a law that allowed these companies to provide cheap contraceptives on college campuses. But there was a catch – drug makers also had to reduce the costs of these birth control items to Medicaid recipients.
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Tags: contraception, Health and Human Services, Institute of Medicine
Posted in Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Feature Post, Truth and Charity Forum | 4 Comments »
Monday, August 1st, 2011
By Bob Laird
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the pro-abortion, “Catholic” former Governor of Kansas, announced today that birth control will be provided as part of all insurance plans at no cost to women. This comes less than two weeks after the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report recommending that the “full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity” be provided at no cost and without co-pays. This is part of a series of recommendations that the IOM provided HHS with regard to the no-cost preventive services for women. Pro-life organizations condemned the findings both during the IOM hearings and after they were published because pregnancy is not a disease to be prevented. While the announcement itself had been expected, the timing was unusual. Even though Sebelius informally promised a judgment by August 1st, what is surprising is that she took very little time to review the IOM report prior to making a decision. In this case, it appears that the decision was already made; the IOM recommendation was a mere formality.
Planned Parenthood has lobbied extensively to include contraceptives as covered preventive health care measures. They applauded the IOM recently by telling their supporters that the government was on the “verge of securing birth control with no co-pays for millions of women.” As the Governor of Kansas, Sebelius was the darling of Planned Parenthood, and she has continued in that capacity as HHS Secretary. She vetoed pro-life legislation in 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008. Furthermore, she credits Planned Parenthood, along with the late-term abortionist, the late George Tiller, for a substantial part of her fundraising as governor.
This new measure is costly—at a time when the government purportedly is trying to rein in spending. The Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research arm, reports that in 2006 it cost $106 annually in public funds for contraceptive services and supplies per woman in need. For the 7 million Medicaid women using birth control, this amounts to over $800 million in government-provided contraception. Of course, provision of contraceptives to Medicaid patients will be unaffected by these changes because Medicaid patients already do not pay a co-pay for medical services rendered.
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Tags: contraception, Institute of Medicine, Kathleen Sebelius, natural family planning, Planned Parenthood
Posted in Bob Laird, Contraception and Sterilization, Feature Post, Natural Family Planning (NFP), Truth and Charity Forum | 5 Comments »
