Catholic bishops call for changes in health care legislation

CNN: "Senior Catholic bishops are threatening to oppose the health care bill under consideration in Congress if lawmakers don't make significant reforms regarding federally funded abortions and other issues."

The bishops sent a letter to members of Congress that "follows a recent Senate Finance Committee vote that defeated Republican amendments that Democrats said would broaden current restrictions of federal funding for abortion. ... They sought to explicitly state that the current ban on federal funding for abortions would apply to all aspects of health insurance in the bill and prohibit the government at any level from forcing hospitals, doctors and other health care providers to perform abortions." The bishops also urged that health legislation "make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone" (10/8).