Concerned Citizen California Action Alert
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Concerned Citizen California Action Alert A publication of Concerned Women for America of California January 15, 2009 P.O. Box 660894, Arcadia, CA 91066 (626) 227-4266 [email protected] Website: http://ca.cwfa.org Help Us Fight FOCA Speaking to Planned Parenthood on July 17, 2007, then-Sen. Barack Obama said, ―Well, the first thing I’d do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.‖ It is expected that early on in the Obama administration many pro-life administrative policies will be overturned by executive order, but the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) must first pass both houses of Congress. FOCA would overturn parental notification and consent laws, informed consent laws, waiting periods and more, including the recently upheld federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban. A recent survey found that the vast majority of Americans support at least some restrictions on abortion. Accordingly, Congress should not pass legislation that would nullify measures that have been constitutionally upheld. Action: Please share your concerns about FOCA with your representative, Sen. Boxer and Sen. Feinstein. You can say, ―Please oppose the Freedom of Choice Act. This dangerous bill will nullify laws that have been passed by states, as well as by the federal government, protecting women, children and health care providers. Please stand with the people of this country, 82 percent of whom, in a recent Harris poll, indicated they believe that abortion should either be illegal in all circumstances or limited in some way.‖ Call, fax or e-mail your views. Visits to their district offices are always very effective ways to make an impact as well. If the district office is located close to you, please make the visit in person. Contact information: Sen. Barbara Boxer – Phone (202) 224-3553, fax (415) 956-6701, or e-mail through this link Sen. Dianne Feinstein – Phone (202) 224-3841, fax (202) 228-3954, or e-mail through this link If you are unsure who your representative is, visit http://capwiz.com/cwfa/dbq/officials to search by zip code. Call any member of Congress at (202) 224-3121. You can send an e-mail by visiting ―Write Your Representative.‖ Our CWA Project 535 lobby team will be in Washington, D.C. visiting the Capitol on H E L P F U L Friday, January 23. Please help ensure that our California senators and representatives will have heard from constituents on this important issue prior to R ESOURCES the time our citizen lobby teams visit their offices. California State Director Phyllis Download a FOCA bulletin Nemeth will be part of the 535 lobby teams fighting FOCA. insert Pray: Download a FOCA fact card Ask that the very real concerns our team expresses will fall on ears that will hear (four to a page) and understand the truth. Ask God to protect unborn children despite politicians’ actions. Page 2 California Action Alert Background: ActionAccNewsletter Key Talking Points Title Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would nullify all state and federal laws that ―interfere with‖ access to abortion before ―viability‖ as determined by the abortion provider. It would overturn partial birth abortion bans, eliminate parental notification, and force taxpayers to fund abortion. FOCA advocates claim that the bill’s purpose is to codify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision allowing abortion on demand. But FOCA will invalidate all pro-life laws that the Supreme Court has upheld since Roe. FOCA creates a fundamental right to abortion. FOCA would repeal the Hyde Amendment, allowing unlimited federal funding for abortion. FOCA would invalidate state and federal laws protecting women and health care providers, including: o Full disclosure to the patient (ultrasound of the baby, information about pain inflicted on the baby or possible complications to the mother). o Parental notification or consent for minors seeking abortion. o Waiting periods. o Restrictions based on fetal viability allowing for abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. o Protections for doctors and nurses who decline to commit or assist in an abortion. o Protections for religiously affiliated hospitals and public hospitals that do not perform abortions. o Exclusions for abortion coverage from health care plans of federal employees. Overturns bans on partial-birth abortion, a gruesome late-term procedure that partially delivers the baby, inserts a device to suction the brains from the baby’s skull, crushes the skull and removes the baby from the birth canal. The Freedom of Choice Act is extreme even for many who identify themselves as "pro-choice." Excerpt from ―FOCA: Return of an Old Foe‖ by CWA’s Marian Ward: In an attempt to soften the blow of this extreme bill, liberals in Congress claim it is ―simply a codification of the principles enunciated in Roe v. Wade.‖ However, this rhetoric is misleading at best, and Denise M. Burke of Physiciansforlife.org calls it ―blatantly untrue and intentionally deceptive.‖ Burke further asserts that ―FOCA goes far beyond Roe, envisioning a nation with no meaningful regulation of abortion and seeking to undo years of progress made by protecting women and their Make your voice heard on children from the negative consequences of abortion and in reducing California bills abortion rates.‖ Go to http://ca.cwfa.org In fact, FOCA’s legal impact would be devastating. Burke warns that it establishes — for the first time ever (not even Roe or subsequent Supreme Click “Targeted Bills” Court decisions do this) — abortion as a fundamental Constitutional right. In Check bills, download talking effect, the bill ―[enshrines] unlimited abortion-on-demand into American points and sample letters law,‖ states Burke. Find your California Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy for Concerned Women legislators at for America (CWA), says, ―The Freedom of Choice Act is one of the largest http://leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html affronts to the lives of unborn Americans since Roe v. Wade. FOCA would essentially undermine every policy success we have had in the last 35 years to protect the lives of our youngest and most vulnerable Americans.‖ Don’t forget to register for our 2009 State Conference on February 28 in Pasadena. Early bird registration rates expire January 28. Find out more on our website at http://ca.cwfa.org. .