Consistent Life
To promote a consistent ethic of life tying together multiple life issues. Learn More
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Consistent Life
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Recent Cause Activity
#1: Quick Internet Action Suggestion
sent from a friend
I rarely forward things but the abortion funding debate in Congress and the weight given to prestigious medical groups compels me to send this.
This is a New England Journal of Medicine poll.
See the on-line poll on the left at http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=2.... Please distribute and encourage YES votes.
Teresa S. Collett
Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law
#2: Calls to Congress
Two of the prime issues of the consistent life ethic are having major votes coming up in Congress:
For war, there will be funding questions on the expansion of war just proposed by President Obama. So far, there is not specific legislation, but Congress does hold the purse strings for this.
For abortion, the Senate is now considering the health care reform bill. The consistent-life stand against the ravages of poverty means that we would clearly like to see something productive pass so that those of low income don't die from lack of coverage, as is reported to be happening now. But it is absolutely crucial that abortion not be funded, because we know from past experience with Medicaid funding that when government subsidizes abortion, far more abortions happen.
The Stupak amendment passed in the House of Representatives, clearing all federal funding of any abortion. The analogous amendment in the Senate will apparently be offered by Democrat Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska in the next week or two. Senators should be encouraged to vote for it.
There is also a possibility that Democrat Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania will join in and/or offer his Pregnant Women Support Act as an amendment to the bill. In addition to some abortion regulation, this includes specific services pregnant women need. It's not yet clear whether this will happen, but it can be encouraged through phone calls in the mean time.
Senators who are anti-abortion and Republican need to be called to make sure they understand the importance of voting for this even if they oppose the bill as a whole. In the House, there was a move to have such Republicans vote "present" in order to keep from having an amendment that would help the bill as a whole get passed -- only one actually ended up voting so, but it is disconcerting enough that one did.
Senators who are Democrat and favor abortion availability should have it impressed on them that this is necessary for the whole bill to pass, in addition to its basic merits.
Those that were outraged by the Stupak amendment held a rally against it and had remarkably low turnout -- in the lower hundreds. This is a highly strategic time to advance the pro-life cause on abortion; there are plenty of abortion availability advocates who understand that insisting on abortion funding here is too extreme.
CL members that would like to link opposition to the expanded war to opposition to abortion funding in the same phone call may find that a productive approach, depending on who your Congresspeople are. At least, it could lead to some interesting discussions with staff people, and getting across the connectios of violence is something that is worth educating Congressional staff about over the course of time.
Updated: The cause has raised $1,000.
David P. Gushee recently endorsed the Mission Statement of Consistent Life. Dr. Gushee is the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. He is currently working on a book on The Sanctity of Life: A Christian Exploration (Eerdmans, 2010).
Dr. Gushee teaches at McAfee and throughout Mercer University in his specialty, Christian ethics. Beyond his work at Mercer, he is the president of Evangelicals for Human Rights, a columnist for Associated Baptist Press, and a contributing editor for Christianity Today. Dr. Gushee also currently serves as co-chair of the Biblical/Contextual Ethics Group of the American Academy of Religion and on the Christian Ethics Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.
He has published nine books, over 75 scholarly essays, book chapters, articles, and reviews, and hundreds of magazine articles and opinion pieces. His books include the award-winning Kingdom Ethics, as well as Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust and Only Human.
Dr. Gushee was the principal drafter of both the Evangelical Climate Initiative (2006) and the Evangelical Declaration Against Torture (2007). He is the Kingdom Ethics columnist for Prism, the magazine of Evangelicals for Social Action, a Consistent Life member group.
See the Consistent Life 2008 Activities Report at http://www.consistent-life.org/2008cl...
Updated: The cause has raised $500.
Anonymous Donor 10 months ago
Donated $100.
Anonymous Donor about 1 year ago
Donated $100.
Anonymous Donor about 1 year ago
Donated $100.
This is a great cause - have made a donation instead of sending presents this year.
This is a great cause - have made a donation instead of sending presents this year.
Updated: The cause has raised $100.
We try to have a presence each year at the annual March for Life held in Washington, DC on or near the anniversary of Roe v Wade's passage. The main organizer is not sympathetic, and has threatened several of our member groups with arrest in the past, but we definitely receive much more positive than negative vibes from fellow marchers. We need to show the pro-life community and the watching world that many who are pro-life on abortion have a different perspective than the organizer. Join us on Friday, January 22, 2010 between 11:30 AM and Noon in front of the Sculpture Garden, on Constitution Ave. NW near 7th St. The location is across from the National Archives and about 2 blocks from the Archives Metro station.
We will proceed together with our banner from there to the rally and march. RSVP not required but it is helpful to know who plans to come. You can email our President Bill Samuel at president@consistent-life.org to say you're coming or with any questions. Bill can be reached by cell phone at 301-943-6406 during the March if you're having trouble connecting with the CL contingent.
Consistent Life member group Democrats for Life of America (DFLA) is having a breakfast that morning, 9-11 AM, at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. (One block from the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station.) $30 paid at the door; proceeds benefit DFLA. Some folks in the Consistent Life contingent for the March will be coming over from the DFLA breakfast.