SEEKING WITNESSES FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON JULY 9

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops is looking for possible witnesses to testify before Congress on the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 4691) on July 9th.

They are seeking health care providers who have been pressured or are currently being pressured by federal, local or state governments to participate in abortions. (The message we received is posted below)

If you are interested, contact them directly at the address below.

If you want to write the Committee to support the bill, they have included a sample letter to Congress.

These links to their site will provide you with their background information on the bill:

www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/facts2.htm
www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/anda.htm

The text of the bill is posted at:
thomas.loc.gov - search for HR 4691

---- Original Message -----
From: mkramlic 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:06 PM
Subject: [Right_of_Conscience] Seeking possible witnesses for hearing on
ANDA


>The Energy & Commerce Committee will tentatively hold a hearing on the 
>Abortion Non-Discrimination Act on July 9th.

> We would like to offer them a good list of people to choose from to
> testify.  There will be two witnesses on our side.  (One on the
> other side).
>
> We are seeking health care providers who have been pressured or are
> currently being pressured by federal, local or state governments to
> participate in abortions.
>
> We are also seeking witnesses who could give an overview of the need
> ANDA: lawyers, law professors, etc.
>
> Please submit your ideas to me at mkramlich@usccb.org.  

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----- Original Message -----
From: "mkramlic" 
To: 
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 1:42 PM
Subject: [Right_of_Conscience] Letters on ANDA

> If your organization has sent a letter endorsing ANDA, will you
> please fax a copy to me at 202-541-3054?  If your organization has
> not sent a letter, please consider sending one to the members of the
> Energy & Commerce Committee.
> Here are some links to fact sheets on the issue.
> http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/facts2.htm
> http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/anda.htm
>
> Here is the text of a sample letter:
>
> The Honorable Bill Luther
> U.S. House of Representatives
> Washington, D.C.  20515
>
> Dear Representative Luther:
>
>
> I am writing to urge you to support and cosponsor H.R. 4691, the
> Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), which has been introduced by
> Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL).
>
> Passage of ANDA is urgently needed to protect health care
> providers.  This bill reaffirms a basic principle: no health care
> provider should be forced to perform or participate in abortions.
>
> In 1996 Congress enacted 42 U.S.C. §238n, to provide such
> protection. This law responded to a threat by the Accreditation
> Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) that it would require
> ob./gyn. residency programs to provide abortions and abortion
> training.  A bipartisan effort succeeded in passing a law to
> prohibit discrimination against health care entities because they
> decline to train in, perform, or arrange for abortions. However,
> some have read the law narrowly, to protect only residents and
> residency programs and only in the training context.
>
> ANDA simply clarifies what should be obvious-that the term "health
> care entity" in existing law includes the full range of participants
> involved in providing health care, such as health care
> professionals, health plans, hospitals and other health facilities.
> ANDA also strengthens existing law by providing that health care
> entities should not be forced by government to pay for abortions.
>
> There is a coordinated national effort to force health care
> providers to participate in abortions.  In Alaska, the state supreme
> court has ruled that some community hospitals must perform abortions
> against their will.  An HMO in New York is under increasing pressure
> to make abortion referrals.  In Connecticut a certificate of need
> was denied to a proposed outpatient surgical center that would have
> declined to perform abortions, after abortion activists intervened
> in the proceedings.  A hospital merger in New Hampshire was
> dismantled after abortion activists intervened with the state
> attorney general.  In Florida, the City Council of St. Petersburg
> forced a private hospital to leave a non-profit consortium because
> the consortium followed a pro-life ethical policy.  ANDA will
> protect health care providers like these and counteract efforts to
> make all providers perform abortions.
>
> Please consider supporting this important effort to protect health
> care providers from abortion-related discrimination.
>