Related Pages
Ending Abortion
How You Can Help in Any of
a Number of Ways
Fight-FOCA Postcard
Campaign
Sign the Fight-FOCA
Petition
Contact Your Elected
Officials
Sample Letters on Current
Issues
Sample Letters on a Current Issue
Oppose the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA)
Using the sample letter(s) on this issue and
the other resources related to it, please put a letter
in your own words (or use a sample letter as is), and mail it to your
federal House
representative, your
two federal
senators,
President Obama,
and sponsors of the bill in the previous Congress --
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
and Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA). It's much better to send a form letter than not to send a letter
at all. Note: no bill number is necessary until a new one is assigned. If
you live in Minnesota, also see
Minnesota's
version of FOCA.
Sample Letters on This Issue
Summary of This Issue
Videos about FOCA
More on This Issue
What Pro-abortionists Think about FOCA
Text of the Legislation in the Previous Congress
Sample Letters on This Issue
Cardinal Justin Rigali's
Letter to Congress, September 19, 2008
Statement of the
President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 12,
2008
An Open Letter
to the then President-Elect Barack Obama, November 14, 2008
Letter from a Citizen 1
Letter from a Citizen 2
Asking Obama to Oppose FOCA
and Protect Adolescent Girls from Sexual Abuse
Thank You for Your Opposition
to FOCA
House Republicans
Ask President Obama to Withdraw Pledge to Sign So-called Freedom of Choice
Act, January 21, 2009
Summary of This Issue
Oppose
"Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA)
FOCA has not yet been introduced in the new Congress, but it could be introduced
at any time and pushed through both houses quickly. The then Senator Obama
had promised Planned Parenthood that, if he was elected, FOCA would be the
first piece of legislation he would sign. The bill is high on the pro-abortion
agenda.
The so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA), would invalidate any federal,
state, or local government law, regulation, policy, or action that would
"deny or interfere with" a woman's access to abortion prior to "viability,"
or which would "discriminate against the exercise of" this right in the
regulation or provision of any "benefits, facilities, services, or information."
This ban would apply absolutely prior to fetal "viability," and also apply
after "viability" to any abortion sought on grounds of "health," which is
not defined in the bill and which therefore would include any physical or
emotional factor whatsoever. Although sometimes referred to as a bill to
"codify Roe v. Wade," this is misleading, because -- the sponsors of the
bill have acknowledged that it would invalidate many laws that have been
upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court under Roe v. Wade, including laws restricting
government funding of abortion, limits on abortion in public or military
facilities, full-disclosure counseling requirements, and bans on partial-birth
abortion. It would also invalidate all laws requiring parental or judicial
notification or consent for abortions performed on minors, laws that permit
health care providers to opt out of participation in abortion on conscience
grounds, laws prohibiting non-physicians from performing abortions, and waiting
periods.
Videos about FOCA
Obama
& Abortion / The Freedom of Choice Act / His Intentions Revealed / Pro-Life
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR1RD2-fabA&feature=channel
FOCA in Focus
At
YouTube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=347F1aHx5yg&feature=channel_page
or
At Blip.tv
http://blip.tv/file/1650006
More on This Issue
Time Magazine Bashed for
Criticizing Pro-Life Advocates on Pro-Abortion FOCA
http://www.lifenews.com/nat4847.html
"... Bill Donohue, the director of the Catholic League, also weighs in on
Sullivan and Time's condemnation of the opponents of FOCA. 'The fact is that
Rep. Jerry Nadler and Sen. Barbara Boxer previously introduced FOCA, but
they got nowhere,' he explained. 'The fact is that they have publicly pledged
to reintroduce the same bill this term. The fact is that the reason they
haven't done so yet is due to pro-life Catholics who are honestly pro-life.'
Noting the pro-abortion Catholics quoted in her column, Donohue added: 'What
it comes down to is this: pro-abortion Catholics are angry that pro-life
Catholics have succeeded so far in intimidating FOCA supporters from going
forward.' ..."
Abortion Advocates Continue
Playing Down Prospects for Timely Vote on FOCA
http://www.lifenews.com/nat4824.html
"... While pro-abortion activists are backing down on promoting FOCA, once
these low-hanging fruits are picked [rescinding the Mexico City Policy, funding
UNFPA, funding embryonic research, and reversing the protections Bush put
in place for doctors and medical centers that don't want to be involved in
abortions], pro-life advocates expect them to promote FOCA in whole or in
part. There is very little reason for NARAL and other groups not to push
for a vote because the political landscape doesn't get any better for them
than it is now. That effort could begin with the so-called Prevention First
Act, a measure that touts family planning but provides a multi-million dollar
bailout for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business. ..."
Abortion Advocates May
Try Low-Key Piecemeal Strategy for Approving FOCA
http://www.lifenews.com/nat4809.html
"... 'We are now seeing the abortion forces waging an incremental battle
-- working to pass what we have termed "FOCA-by-Stealth" ... They think that
if they take FOCA and repackage it and pass it in pieces and under different
names ... that we won't notice.' ... 'The president and pro-abortion leaders
of Congress are looking at plans to pass FOCA, piece-by-piece, attached to
other bills. This could be devastating for the babies because it would make
it easier for their abortion agenda to get lost in a larger bill ... Our
job is to alert federal lawmakers, Americans and the media that FOCA is present
every time that they propose legislation with parts of it embedded ... No
matter what form it takes, we need to let Congress know that a majority of
Americans oppose this radical pro-abortion agenda ... We must continue making
noise by letting our pro-life voices be heard."
Pro-Life Groups Continue
Campaigns to Stop Pro-Abortion Freedom of Choice Act
http://www.lifenews.com/nat4795.html
"... Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, says FOCA
has yet to receive a vote in Congress, which he says gives pro-life people
time to contact their elected officials now and urge opposition. 'Our efforts
to fight FOCA are beginning to bear fruit. Collectively, pro-lifers are making
enough noise that we've given the President and pro-abortion leaders in Congress
second thoughts about moving forward with FOCA in its entirety ... We can't
let up on continuing to make noise about FOCA.' ... Mattes is also concerned
that abortion advocates may try to approve FOCA with a piecemeal strategy.
... Mattes says legislators who may not normally vote pro-life could be persuaded
to oppose FOCA with a monumental grassroots campaign that equals or beats
the campaigns to approve the partial-birth abortion ban. ..."
Fight FOCA (The "Freedom of Choice
Act")
http://www.catholicanew.com/abortion-foca-main.htm
CatholicAnew's information page about FOCA.
"Freedom of Choice Act":
FOCA
http://www.nrlc.org/FOCA/index.html
National Right to Life's pages regarding the "Freedom of Choice Act."
What
Is The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)?
http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=16220&department=FIELD&categoryid=misc
"... First, it would unilaterally end the debate on abortion by making it
into law. Abortion would be a 'fundamental right' for American women, just
like free speech. Even if Roe vs Wade were to be overturned, FOCA--as law--would
remain. Second, it would nullify all pro-life legislation and court decisions
in effect today as well as prohibit any future pro-life congressional legislation
and/or court decisions. ..." This page includes a brief history of FOCA and
links to pro-life groups mobilized to fight FOCA and "pro-choice" groups
fighting to pass FOCA.
What Pro-abortionists Think about FOCA
ACLU
Letter to Senator Boxer and Representative Nadler Thanking The Lawmakers
For Introducing The Freedom of Choice Act ("FOCA:)
http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/abortion/25062leg20060417.html
Pro-abortionists think that there are rights called "reproductive rights"
that are somehow more fundamental than is everybody's right to live.
Support
the Freedom of Choice Act
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/freedom-of-choice-act/articles/support-foca-14393.htm
Planned Parenthood emphasizes "women's health"; however a woman's right to
make health decisions about herself do not include the right to intentionally
kill an innocent human being.
Freedom of
Choice Act (Introduced in Senate), April 19, 2007
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1173:
Easy-to-read copy of the FOCA bill. Notice in findings 1-4 the mention
of privacy or the right to it. The bill makes several misguided
justifications for a woman's right to kill her child.
Freedom
of Choice Act
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/freedom-of-choice-act-19942.htm
Pro-abortion thinking: "The U.S. Congress must pass legislation that would
safeguard every woman's basic civil right to make her own health care decisions
in consultant with her doctor. The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), introduced
in Congress, would do just that -- by prohibiting federal or state governments
from interfering with a woman's fundamental right to choose to bear a child
or end a pregnancy."
Freedom
Of Choice Act (FOCA)
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/
Pro-abortion thinking: "FOCA will secure the right to choose by establishing
a federal law that will guarantee reproductive freedom for future generations
of American women. This guarantee will protect women's rights even if President
Bush and an anti-choice Congress are successful in reversing Roe v. Wade
or enacting even more restrictions on our right to choose."
Freedom of
Choice Act would Guarantee Roe Protections in U.S. Statutes
http://www.now.org/issues/abortion/070430foca.html
Pro-abortion thinking: "... The Freedom of Choice Act, if adopted into law,
will restore the reproductive rights recognized in 1973 in Roe v. Wade and
in Doe v. Bolton, before Congress, state legislatures and courts eroded these
rights. ... Q. What would be the impact of FOCA on abortion procedure bans
(so-called "partial-birth" abortion bans)? A. FOCA would supersede the federal
ban and any state ban, to the extent those bans restrict pre-viability abortion
procedures, or post-viability procedures necessary to preserve a woman's
health or life." [Note: remember that a woman's health is so broadly defined
that virtually any woman who wanted a late-term abortion would be able to
get one on the basis of "health."]
Text of the Legislation in the Previous Congress
Freedom of Choice
Act
http://www.nrlc.org/FOCA/FOCA2007S1173.html
Related Pages
Ending Abortion
How You Can Help in Any of
a Number of Ways
Fight-FOCA Postcard
Campaign
Sign the Fight-FOCA
Petition
Contact Your Elected
Officials
Sample Letters on Current
Issues
|
