ACTION ALERT! New York State "Reproductive Health Act," S.5808/A.11484:
Call Senator Leibell's local office at 845-279-3773 and they will contact Albany. Use letter below for some talking points. Call your Senator today!
Sister Lucy Marie Vasile at the Sisters of Life, NYS Catholic Conference, Hudson Valley Coalition for Life and No. Westchester and Putnam Center for Life are all on board here. The legislative session in Albany is scheduled to end within days and there's still a grave risk that the Reproductive Health Act may come to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
This radical bill would establish abortion as a "fundamental right" and eliminate any possibility of reasonable regulations, such as parental notification laws. It may also seriously threaten the religious liberty of our Church, especially religious hospitals, schools, and social welfare agencies. For more information, please visit the website of the New York State Catholic Conference: http://www.nyscatholic.org/pages/news/show_newsDetails.asp?id=343.
Now, it is all the more important that we contact our Senators to express our opposition to this bill. Even if you have done this before, you should do it again. No Senator's vote should be taken for granted, and none should be conceded.
Please urge all your contacts, friends, and relatives to send emails through the Catholic Conference's Catholic Advocacy Network http://capwiz.com/nyscatholicconference/issues/alert/?alertid=15159056&type=ST&show_alert=1 and to call their Senator's Albany office ASAP.
Here is the Catholic Advocacy Network sample letter at the above link on RHA, S.5808/A11484
"As your constituent, I write to register my strong opposition to the
Reproductive Health Act," S.5808/A.11484. This bill contains very broad
language that would declare a fundamental 'right of privacy' in state law.
It opens the door to extreme results. It would:
- Legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, for
virtually any reason; - Make abortion immune from any reasonable state
regulation such as parental notification or informed consent; - Repeal
current law that requires doctors to perform abortions and allow any
"health care practitioner" to provide it.
It could:
- Force all hospitals to allow abortions, including religious hospitals
and others whose mission statements oppose it; - Force all insurance
plans, including those of Catholic employers, to cover abortion; -
Compel doctors and nurses to counsel for abortion, refer for abortion and
otherwise facilitate abortion against their wishes.
Contrary to the notion that this bill would allow "freedom of choice,"
this proposal would deny freedom of choice to individuals and institutions
that prefer not to support or condone abortion. Because the bill declares
that the state "may not discriminate" against the exercise of abortion in
providing "benefits, facilities, services or information," it could compel
every institution licensed or funded by the state to support, cover and/or
allow abortions.
While this legislation is being promoted as a mere "update" to New York's
laws, in reality it is an extreme measure that would prevent you, the
legislature, the people's elected representatives, from enacting any
reasonable and necessary regulations on abortion.
I implore you to do all within your power to prevent this bill from coming
to a vote, especially at this late date in the session. Thank you for
your attention to these serious concerns. I look forward to hearing from
you.
Sincerely,"
Reproductive Health Act," S.5808/A.11484. This bill contains very broad
language that would declare a fundamental 'right of privacy' in state law.
It opens the door to extreme results. It would:
- Legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, for
virtually any reason; - Make abortion immune from any reasonable state
regulation such as parental notification or informed consent; - Repeal
current law that requires doctors to perform abortions and allow any
"health care practitioner" to provide it.
It could:
- Force all hospitals to allow abortions, including religious hospitals
and others whose mission statements oppose it; - Force all insurance
plans, including those of Catholic employers, to cover abortion; -
Compel doctors and nurses to counsel for abortion, refer for abortion and
otherwise facilitate abortion against their wishes.
Contrary to the notion that this bill would allow "freedom of choice,"
this proposal would deny freedom of choice to individuals and institutions
that prefer not to support or condone abortion. Because the bill declares
that the state "may not discriminate" against the exercise of abortion in
providing "benefits, facilities, services or information," it could compel
every institution licensed or funded by the state to support, cover and/or
allow abortions.
While this legislation is being promoted as a mere "update" to New York's
laws, in reality it is an extreme measure that would prevent you, the
legislature, the people's elected representatives, from enacting any
reasonable and necessary regulations on abortion.
I implore you to do all within your power to prevent this bill from coming
to a vote, especially at this late date in the session. Thank you for
your attention to these serious concerns. I look forward to hearing from
you.
Sincerely,"
Thanks for your immediate action!
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