St. Joseph Catholic Parish

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Calls to Action!

St. Peter

Posted 2/29/2012

Please take immediate action!

The State Assembly will wrap up voting on new pieces of legislation on March 15. It is expected that the Assembly will vote on two crucial pieces of right-to-life legislation prior to March 15. Wisconsin Right to Life is the lead organization promoting both of these live-saving measures.

Assembly Bill 371
Wisconsin took a giant step forward towards protecting women seeking abortions last week by passing SB 306, the Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act. For far too long, numbers of women have reported that they were coerced into having abortions. SB 306, passed by a 17-15 vote, ensures that an assessment will be made to determine if a woman’s consent to an abortion is voluntary.

In addition, women will be further protected by requiring in person administration of chemical abortion-inducing drugs like RU 486. This requirement would prohibit web cam abortions which are occurring in Iowa and Minnesota from being introduced into local communities in Wisconsin. The FDA has reported over 2,200 adverse incidents since 2000 from use of abortion-inducing drugs, including the deaths of 14 women. RU 486 abortions, administered after a woman has been diagnosed as being pregnant, are different from the morning after pill.

Finally the Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act repeals penalties to women who obtain abortions. This repeal removes a conflict in the statues and ensures that once abortions become illegal again in Wisconsin, a woman who obtains an abortion cannot be fined or imprisoned. Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) is the State Senate author of this legislation.

The Assembly is expected to take up the Assembly version of the Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act ... Assembly Bill 371. Assembly Representative Michelle Litjens (R-Oshkosh) is the Assembly author of this important legislation. If the measure passes in the Assembly, it will then go to Governor Scott Walker for his signature.

Assembly Bill 154
This legislation opts Wisconsin out of abortion coverage in the health care exchanges mandated by Obamacare. Without this vital legislation, Wisconsin taxpayers would be forced to subsidize abortion coverage in the health plans offered through Obamacare's health care exchanges. On May 20, the State Senate passed the State Senate version of the legislation (Senate Bill 92). Senator Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee) is the State Senate author of the measure.

Now, the Assembly is set to vote on the Assembly version of the legislation (Assembly Bill 154), which is authored by Representative Robin Vos (R-Racine). If the measure passes in the Assembly, it will then go to Governor Scott Walker for his signature.

Please write or call your state assembly representative, Rep. Fred Clark and ask your Assembly Representative to vote for Assembly Bill 371 and Assembly Bill 154. Also ask your Assembly Representative to oppose all amendments to these measures. Pro-abortion legislators typically offer amendments to right-to-life measures in order to water them down. Please contact your Representative immediately because votes on these measures could occur any time before March 15.

Please contact your legislator today! Remember to include your home address so your legislator will know you live in their district.

            Rep. Fred Clark - (608) 266-7746
            P.O. Box 8952
            Madison, WI 53708-8952
Send email to Rep.clark@legis.wisconsin.gov

Thank you for the action you take to save lives!

Sue Armacost
Legislative Director

P.S. - Please urge your friends and family to sign-up to receive E-Voice alerts so they can get involved too. Ask them to visit www.wrtl.org/e-voice/index.aspx today!

Please Take Immediate Action!

Posted 02/17/2012

Your help is urgently needed today to ensure that a lifesaving bill is passed in Wisconsin. Early next week, the State Senate will vote on SB 306, the Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act. This bill is designed to protect women from coerced abortions and to prevent the introduction of RU 486 chemical abortions into local communities using web cams. Please contact your State Senator and urge him/her to vote in favor of SB 306 and to vote against any amendments. Wisconsin Right to Life thanks you for being a part of this fantastic lifesaving opportunity to protect women and unborn children.

Please write or call your state senator, Sen. Luther Olsen and ask him to vote in favor of Senate Bill 306, the Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act. Please also ask your state senator to vote against any amendments to Senate Bill 306. Because of the short time frame, please either email or call your state senator. Letters may not arrive in time.

Please contact your legislator today! Remember to include your home address so your legislator will know you live in his district.

Sen. Luther Olsen - (608) 266-0751
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707-7882
Send email to Sen.olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov

Thank you for the action you take to save lives!

Sue Armacost
Legislative Director

P.S. - Please urge your friends and family to sign-up to receive E-Voice alerts so they can get involved too. Ask them to visit www.wrtl.org/e-voice/index.aspx today!

USCCB > Issues and Action > Religious Liberty

Conscience Protection

Bishops Vow to Fight Coercive HHS Mandate

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, sharply criticized the decision by the Obama administration in which it "ordered almost every employer and insurer in the country to provide sterilization and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, in their health plans.... Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights."

He urged Catholics and the public at large to speak out in protest. Watch his video & then take action today!

Background

The HHS has issued a rule forcing nearly all private health plans to include coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as surgical sterilization. These are listed among "preventive services for women" that all health plans will have to cover without co-pays or other cost-sharing -- regardless of whether the insurer, the employer or other plan sponsor, or even the woman herself objects to such coverage.

The exemption provided for "religious employers" is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified.

During the public comment period last fall, the bishops' grassroots campaign alone generated over 57,000 comments to HHS opposing their mandate.

Now that the Administration has refused to recognize the Constitutional conscience rights of organizations and individuals who oppose the mandate, the bishops are now urging Catholics and others of good will to fight this unprecedented attack on conscience rights and religious liberty.

More than 400 Catholic leaders have called on Congress and the Administration to protect conscience rights in health care. The open letter appeared as a full page ad featuring over 150 of those leaders in the New York Times and the Washington Post on December 21.

Get Informed & Take Action Now

Write to Congress urging support for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467).
Share this page with others so they can get informed & take action, too. Social media & e-mail options are found under "SHARE" at the upper right of this page -- and at the upper right corner of Cardinal-designate Dolan's video. . . .
Will contraception really be "free" under this coercive mandate? Read Richard Doerflinger's column "The High Costs of 'Free' Birth Control" to find out.
There's lots of confusion about what the HHS edict involves. For a quick summary, see our 2-page FAQ called The HHS Mandate for Contraception/Sterilization Coverage: An Attack on Rights of Conscience.
For more information on the HHS mandate and its inadequate conscience protection, read our Preventive Services Backgrounder.