Steve Waldman: July 2009 Archives

The House Energy and Commerce Committee wrestling with health care last night narrowly approved one measure ("The Capps Amendment") claiming to be neutral on abortion -- but which opponents claimed was slanted toward the pro-choice side. Then they narrowly voted for a different amendment ("The Pitts Amendment") claiming to be neutral -- but which a different set of opponents claimed was slanted in a pro-life direction.

And, then, to make things more complicated, they then changed their minds and narrowly voted down that last maybe-neutral-maybe-not amendment.

So, both sides claim to want the health care legislation to preserve the status quo and yet they don't agree on what that means.

Mark Silk admirably attempts to sort through these public funding issues here.

For the true afficionados, here's the text of the two controversial amendments:

Terry Mattingly makes the fascinating point that the U.S. Catholic Bishops seem to be non-players in the health care debate, if press coverage is any gauge.

"Are the journalists ignoring the bishops or are the bishops (and their gatekeepers) ignoring the journalists? This is one of the biggest religion-news stories of the year, especially in terms of its potential impact on Catholic health-care facilities and the people who work there. The church's views on health-care reform are consistent and articulate and, I might add, rather centrist. If the White House wants health-care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops are a strategic force.

Did you hear that silence? What was that?"

Good question. Terry notes that many independent Catholic groups have been quite active. Earlier this week, Saint Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities USA and the Catholic Health Association urged support.

But what about the Bishops? It may be that they're holding back until they see how the abortion issue plays out. Yesterday, for instance, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement, "Cardinal Rigali Urges House Committee to Support Pro-Life Amendments to Health Care Reform Bill."

It's certainly something the Obama administration should consider: having neutral abortion language could theoretically result in enthusiastic support for health care reform from the Catholic Church -- though if I were the White House, I'd want to know: how much energy will the Bishops really put into helping pass health care if they're satisfied on the abortion provisions?

So far, the Bishops have reiterated their support for the concept for national health care (as long as it's not promoting abortion)but have not done a major campaign. Counting press releases by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is not the best measure of activity but, still, of the Bishops' 69 most recent press releases, three were on health care reform:

"The new fault line is not between pro-life and pro-choice people. It's within the pro-life community. The question now is: 'are you pro-life and pro-contraception, therefore trying to reduce the need for abortions, or are you pro-life and against contraception and you hope that people's lives improve just by hoping it, wishing it so.'"

--Rep. Tim Ryan, a pro-life Democrat and author of the Ryan-DeLauro bill, which attempts to reduce the number of abortions in part through expanded use of contraception.

During Republican administrations, the religious right flexed its muscle around issues like abortion and judicial appointments.

As the religious left grew in importance during the election, it was unclear how they would attempt to exert their influence.

It looks like the first big test is health care. They were non-existent players in 1993; this time, they're trying to have a big impact. The Washington Post has the details.

For those religious folks interested in lobbying for health care reform, check out the Piconetwork, which offers specific ways to get involved. Sojourner's has produced resource guide and the Catholic Bishops' have renewed their long-time advocacy for universal health care.

If you're religious views drive you to oppose universal health care, then Family Research Council is the place to peruse.

Walter Cronkite didn't lend his name to many things. So it was notable when he became chairman of the Interfaith Alliance, a group in part created to combat the "religious right."

As the Alliance's founder C. Welton Gaddy explained:

"As a man of personal faith who loved his country and its Constitution, Walter Cronkite looked on with alarm as self-appointed religious authorities attempted to prescribe policy for the government. That was when he decided to endorse Interfaith Alliance -- the first organization with which he identified himself -- and speak on behalf of its national efforts to strengthen religious liberty and to challenge the manipulation of religion by politicians and attempts at the utilization of the institutions of government to advance religion....

An incredible breadth of interest and depth of conscience caused Walter Cronkite to want to challenge the movement called the religious right. One day after doing an interview together in his home, a reporter asked about his personal religion. "It's none of your business," Mr. Cronkite replied courteously but sternly, "That's why I am a part of the Interfaith Alliance." He no more wanted anyone judged by their religion than he wanted people to use their religion to advance their public status in the nation. Yet, privately, he sincerely spoke of the role of religion in his life."

The "common ground" abortion legislation re-introduced today does seem to represent real political progress. I'm on jury duty today so I haven't been able to do any extra reporting but looking over the summary of the legislation, known as "Ryan-DeLauro,"...

There was a major breakthrough today for efforts to achieve common ground on reducing the number of abortions. Rep. Tim Ryan, a pro-lifer, and Rosa DeLauro, pro-choice, reintroduced a revised version of their common ground legislation, drawing a wider range...

I've written in the past of my frustration that health care advocates -- both policymakers, religious lefties and spinmeisters -- aren't focusing sufficiently on the pre-existing condition problem as one of the central outrages of the modern health care system....

Religious leaders advocating for health care reform have tended to emphasize the plight of the uninsured, which surely is a great injustice. But to me, another facet is just as unjust -- and politically more potent: that is, the tendency...

There are some songs I secretly play when I'm alone that I know would mark me as a) unsophisticated b) sappy and c) old. But I love them nonetheless, perhaps because they entered my brain at an impressionable moment, perhaps...

This photo has been running in newspapers and on websites throughout the country along with stories about legendary anchorman Walter Cronkite. The caption says it's Cronkite and someone named Sandra Nemser broadcasting the CBS radio show Answer Please in...

Our excerpt from Robert Wright's important new book Evolution of God focuses on the origins of the modern idea of heaven. Wright suggests that Luke evolved the idea of heaven to compensate for the fact that the anticiated resurrection of...

Efforts to achieve common ground on abortion often stumble over the role of contraception. For pro-choicers, it's a no brainer: if you want to reduce abortions, reduce unintended pregnancies - and the best way to do that is through...

The day Sarah Palin announced her resignation as Alaska governor, I wrote a post speculating on whether there was anyone who could stop her from getting the Republican nomination. (Answer: Huckabee). I was surprised to see that most of the...

For months now, pro-choice activists have resisted those pro-life Democrats who said they wanted to "reduce the number" of abortions. No, no, they said, the goal should be "reducing the need" for abortion, a goal that's less stigmatizing to women...

Beliefnet Blogger Francis Collins was nominated to be head of the National Institutes of Health! Okay, being a Beliefnet blogger is not Francis Collin's main claim to fame, though the blog that he and his BioLogos foundation run -- Science...

Referring to her political future, Sarah Palin said, "If I die, I die." When I first heard this I assumed this language was designed to feed the Christian sense of persecution. Turns out it's even more Biblically resonant than...

Perhaps by the time Michael Jackson was an adult, he was drawn toward the outrageous, unusual or abnormal, but as a child he seemed to want nothing more than to be like other kids. "More than anything, I wished to...

As a parent of two teenage boys, we're in a constant struggle to figure out what movies or TV shows are appropriate. (The latest debate: Bruno). It's a struggle, and the source of much friction, but we figure it's our...

To me, the most important points in my email exchange with pro-life activist Jill Stanek were: 1) She believes that contraception and sex ed increase the number of unintended pregnancies 2) Even if she could be convinced that sex ed...

Though largely about the disturbing way much of our food is produced, the most haunting scene for me in the movie Food, Inc. shows how meat processing and poultry plants recruit illegal immigrants -- and then work with law enforcement...

Amy, Gordon and I took a boat trip into New York Harbor to watch the fireworks. The Statue of Liberty at sunset was extraordinary....

If Sarah Palin's sudden resignation reflected a decision to run for the Presidency -- and not some new scandal about to erupt -- it means the critical figure in the Republican party now is Mike Huckabee. Palin is armored in...

John Adams wrote to Abigail on July 3, 1776 that July 2 ought to be celebrated not only with "bells, bonfires and illuminations" but "as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." It makes...

I'm often asked by pro-choice friends why pro-lifers oppose sex education, family planning, and contraception. Don't those approaches reduce unintended pregnancy and therefore the numbers of abortions? It's a question at the heart of efforts to achieve "common ground" on...

Most religious conservative politicians who get caught in a sex scandal make Adam their friend. Because he took the bite of that apple, long before there were hookers or F.B.I. stings, he insured that we were "all sinners." Christ came...

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story. A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day." --Mark Sanford Several women friends have told me that...