April 25, 2013 Dear ProLife Colleague: The Kermit Gosnell Abortion Clinic Debacle/Trial will be the subject of a Fox News Documentary this Sunday, May 5, at 9pm ET for one hour. Be sure to see this coverage! ATTENTION TEXAS DOCTORS Senate Bill 537 requires abortion facilities to meet the same standards of ambulatory surgical centers. Currently, 38 abortion centers in Texas do not meet the health and safety standards common for all other outpatient surgical procedures. Five abortion facilities already are ambulatory surgical centers, and a sixth that will be opening soon. The abortion industry says that, if passed, SB 537 bill would likely close more than half the abortion facilities in Texas. If true, this would likely save the lives of nearly 40,000 unborn babies next year alone, and save their mothers from unnecessary emotional and physical pain. SB 537 was voted out of committee but is stalled. For the full Senate to vote on the bill, we need 21 votes to get it to the Floor. Right now we have 20 votes — all 19 Republican Senators and Democrat Senator Eddie Lucio. Our best chance is to convince either Senator Zaffirini (SD 21) or Senator Uresti (SD 19) to support the bill. Both of these senators have traditionally voted pro-life. However, both are saying that it is unnecessary for abortion facilities to have this standard of regulation. Senator Uresti has said that he is opposed to this bill because obstetricians and gynecologists are against it and think the regulations are unnecessary. Please contact these senators and explain why SB 537 is important for protecting the lives and health of Texas women! The bill will die if the Senate doesn’t get to vote on it. Senate District 19 The Honorable Carlos Uresti Phone: (512) 463-0119 Address: P.O. Box 12068 Capitol Station Austin, TX 78711 Email: carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us Fax: (512) 463-1017 Senate District 21 The Honorable Judith Zaffirini Phone: (512) 463-0121 Address: P.O. Box 12068 Capitol Station Austin, TX 7871 Email: judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us ATTENTON ALL DOCTORS With regard to the contaceptive/abortifacient mandate, see this note from the Catholic Conf of Bishops: In the days to come, House Republicans must decide whether to do something about the HHS contraceptive/abortifacient mandate before that mandate begins being imposed on the employees of NONPROFIT RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, HEALTH PROVIDERS AND CHARITIES on August 1. It seems the only feasible way to address this violation of religious freedom before that deadline is to add language like the Health Care Conscience Rights Act (H.R. 940) to the next “must-pass” bill needed to keep the government operating – most likely the debt limit bill. Many members of Congress still say they are not receiving messages from their constituents about this urgent issue. I am writing to encourage all who care about it to renew and expand your efforts this week. Remember that when Dr. Fleming, original sponsor of HR 940, met with us a few weeks ago, he said many pro-life Republicans in the House have not heard about this issue from their constituents. The natural tendency of many is not to bother lobbying stalwart local pro-life members, because they know they will vote the right way. But this is not about how to vote. This is about making the conscience issue a priority over other favored issues, getting it INTO the next must-pass bill and then insisting to the Senate that it has to stay. The members of the Republican Study Committee, for example (http://rsc.scalise.house.gov/aboutrsc/members/), will likely be very involved in making decisions about the debt limit bill in the days to come, but many may not have heard from constituents recently that this is an urgent priority. Check on NCHLA’s new revised alert in support of H.R. 940. Supportive materials on the need for better conscience protection, in the face of the HHS mandate and other threats, are available at www.usccb.org/conscience. A new feature here is a set of four “voices of conscience”: Video footage of four women who spoke at the House of Representatives press conference last month about the need to enact HR 940. See the 3-minute video of nurse Cathy DeCarlo, for example. Then ask yourself how, at a time when people are justifiably horrified by the abortions performed at 22 weeks and beyond by predators like Kermit Gosnell, we can be living in a country where pro-life nurses are FORCED to take part in such horrors at reputable hospitals receiving federal funds – and then find they have no recourse in court. Members of Congress also need to hear directly from employers involved in the current law suits against the HHS mandate, and from others whose religious freedom will be burdened by that mandate. Organizations that filed comment letters against the mandate should send copies to their Representative, with a cover note urging Congress to act on this issue in its next “must-pass” legislation such as the debt limit bill. If the House does make this a priority, we can turn our attention to persuading the Senate to concur. ************ To learn more about this violation of American freedom of religion and conscience, visit: http://www.freedom2care.org/learn/page/laws-obamacare-contraceptives-mandate.
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