Mommy Life: FOCA - what you need to know, what you need to do now

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January 29, 2009 10:20 AM

FOCA - what you need to know, what you need to do now

From an email forwarded to me from Bob McConnell. This is long, but please at least skim it to see where the pro-life movement is headed. There is a lot of energy right now and the most important thing is clarity and unity. At the end is a list of Catholic Senators and Representatives who sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act in the last session. If you are a constituent, you need to contact them.

In light of the election of President Obama - surely the most pro-abortion candidate ever to be nominated for the presidency - and the election of a congressional monopoly of the Democratic Party which has had aggressive platform positions spelling out a so-called pro-choice agenda for years, we surely can expect the pro-abortion forces to press their advantage soon and hard. They must see 2009 as their year.
The cause of Life - though it will not be described as such - is and will remain front and center, advanced aggressively under the cover of headline grabbing economic programs, war concerns and other matters that have often distracted the public from the dark advancement of the Culture of Death.

The challenge is massive. President Obama's astoundingly clear promotion of abortion as a state legislator and as a United States senator, together with his campaign promises apparently did little to dissuade thousands upon thousands of Catholics and others supposedly against abortion from voting for him and for other public officials who routinely support abortion "rights." It would appear that many have simply given up the cause of life.

Well, now is not the time to give up. Now is the time God expects us to step up and to stand against the forces of - this may sound harsh but, the forces of death. And, it would seem to me that there are two primary "fronts" along which we each need to take on the challenge ahead.

The first and most important "front" is prayer.

I am no authority on prayer. My humble efforts in that regard are no standard. But I certainly believe in the power of prayer and know that if we are to be successful we should include in our daily conversations with our Creator the request for guidance and the energy to stay with the effort and for the truth of God's creation of life to be revealed to those who now favor "choice." And, on this the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, I simply quote from his Summa theologiae:

"We do not pray to change divine decree, but only to obtain what God has decided will be obtained through prayer."

We must pray, we must ask our Creator for help and guidance in our campaign for life.

The second "front" is political action.

And I must begin by saying that: (A) there are many organizations committed to this effort and they know their constituents and they need to be supported, and nothing I say should suggest anything other than that each and every one of these organizations needs to be supported. And (B) despite "A" some of my comments respond to questions about calls to action already being sent to members of such organizations.

In a perfect political campaign for life I believe there should be a one unified and deeply involved and sophisticated grass roots movement with a very clear message. A movement where organizations and individuals leave their egos and differences behind and take on the critical and immediate challenge presented by going to every state and every city and into every church and organization where respect of human life is honored or should be honored. We need a movement that develops quickly the ability to speak out at every opportunity with a carefully crafted pro life message, one that is impossible for any officeholder or candidate to ignore - a message that makes it clear that pro-abortion actions are not acceptable and the advancement of such an agenda will lead to dire political consequences (forces will be gathered, funds will be raised to oust offending politicians and people will not be re-elected).

While I have no magic wand or unique suggestion on how to make all of the disparate organizations unite into one cohesive movement, I believe that would best serve the cause. However, in the meantime I believe that every congressman, congresswoman and senator needs to hear from constituents that the constituent is against the re-introduction and enactment of the Freedom of Choice Act. If a single massive, nationwide campaign was already organized there could be a building drum beat from a groundswell of nationwide opposition - - there would be cards, letters, faxes, emails and telephone calls against sponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act targeted at each and every congressional office.

Then when the FOCA does get re-introduced I would have different messages for different offices and return to another round of cards, letters, faxes, emails and telephone calls to each and every office. (a) To sponsors of the legislation there would be a message of outrage that that office had co-sponsored the FOCA and "asks" that the member withdraw sponsorship. (b) To so-called Catholics who have sponsored the legislation (and in the 110th Congress many did - a list is at the end of this email) I would turn up the heat even more - - let loose the card, letter, fax attack and go to every bishop and pastor in the sponsors' state or congressional district pressing them to make note of the sponsorship from the pulpit and in the diocesan newspaper along with strong, unflinching sermons and editorials about the grievous sin involved and urge all Catholics to contact that senator or Member of the House. (c) To offices that have not sponsored I would continue to unleash the calls, letters, etc applauding their not having co-sponsored and urging them to do everything they can to defeat the FOCA.

There needs to be created the sense that the nation is awake and following this issue, that acts in Washington will be noticed back home and will lead to voter reactions against pro-abortion officials.

And - contemporaneously I would have cards, letters, faxes, and phone calls directed at the White House condemning the President's Executive Order, his past sponsorship of the FOCA, his campaign statements in support of the FOCA and urging him to come out against Congress moving forward with such legislation.

In these days, with all of the communication avenues available, it is very hard to get a massive nationwide campaign noticed. But just as the Obama White House intends to have the Obama campaign email and other contact lists used to support his agenda, pro life Americans need to bombard Washington with their views, building in numbers day-after-day, week-after-week, month-after-month.

We live in a world dominated by electronic communications but does an email to the White House make a difference. One, two, three, 50, or 100 emails - no, they don't get much attention when so many pieces of correspondence are coming in every hour. It is not the old days when the alternatives were the telephone and snail mail. Then 50 letters arriving on the same subject in a congressional office within a week or so attracted attention. Now you need to bombard these offices - including the White House - with every means available. A gold star is awarded when fax machines, inboxes and telephones are jammed and shut down - - THAT attracts attention. Do it multiple times in multiple offices regarding the same subject and people talk. Members get the feel that there is a movement "out there" and they need to pay attention - - and, that is where this campaign needs to get.

The reality is that right now there are several objectives. We need to find a way to push for a few people, groups to step forward (egos in their pockets) and pull together a focused nationwide campaign. And, in the meantime, we each need to get everyone we know to start the letter, email and calling campaign - - movements have to start somewhere.

As for the emails I have been getting, most attaching messages my correspondents have received from various pro-life and pro-family organizations, I worry that in 2009 the effort is getting off to the right start. I explain:

Fundamental to my perception about effective petitioning of our government is my view that within our public there often is a lack of understanding of our government institutions and the way they work - - and - - too little is done to teach and educate the public about same, in our schools, in our media and by groups interested in stimulating political action. I am just not "into" the sound bite era.

In my view too many of the emails already being sent this year in the pro life effort provide information that is too imprecise and focus too much on emotion. I believe such calls to action can too easily lead to emails, letters and phone calls by "believers" that will allow officeholders (and their staff members) to discount the pro life message to some degree because the petitioner evidences a lack of understanding and sophistication as to the system, who is responsible, what is actually happening, etc.

At least two organizations have already worried their members that the hideous Freedom of Choice Act could have been considered in Congress last week! This is an example of what I believe to be unhelpful calls to arms - - the Freedom of Choice Act has not yet been introduced in this the 111th Congress. Communications to congressional offices suggesting otherwise would seem to me to diminish the pro life message being sent. We need to be informed and accurate.

So far this year - in addition to the most pro abortion President in history being inaugurated - two things have happened of significant and immediate note.

1. The White House has posted on the White House web site what are essentially the Obama campaign policy position papers.

"Reproductive Choice

* Supports a Woman's Right to Choose: President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Adminstration (sic). He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case."

2. On Friday January 23, by Executive Order, the President reversed the ban on foreign assistance to organizations that promote abortions.

I believe the way this was done - on a Friday and but one day after the March for Life here in Washington - should emphasize the challenge ahead. The Obama White House is determined and so far has little to no fear of the pro-life movement.

With this Executive Order the President can check off a promise he made to those who either can not or will not grasp or do not care that the central point is a human life. And, given the lack of media coverage he might get away with his action causing a minimal uproar from those who seek to defend human life.

I my view, at least one immediate action that should be underway all across the country is an outcry against the President's action that puts the spotlight on Congress. Though emails, cards, letters, and phone calls the White House should hear, read and feel objections but now too - - and importantly - - Congress should hear.

I think every congressional office should be bombarded with messages like:

Dear ________________:

With an Executive Order making foreign aid money available to organizations promoting abortion President Obama has taken the first step to fulfill his promises to those who support the culture of death in our society. I abhor this action and did not and could not support Mr. Obama's candidacy because of this wrong-headed view. However, the President was able to and did take this action on his own. The rest of his pro abortion agenda requires congressional action.

You will have to take a position.

I write to let you know that I believe in the protection of the most vulnerable among us, the unborn, and I believe that despite all of the other challenges facing us the right to life is the paramount issue of the day. I urge you to oppose abortion rights and to vote pro life.

Respectfully,

There is so much more to say and one would like to educate. However, I think that for most the key is to send the multi-part message that: (a) the writer understands the system; (b) the President's action was noticed and opposed; (c) that the writer sees the right to human life as paramount, and (d) that the voter is watching and in the first instance will make his or her electoral decisions by where the candidate is and has been on the abortion issue.

Surely there are other actions and there needs to be concerted and sophisticated strategies and messages but most of all actions need to get underway. I believe this will be a watershed year and I believe it can and should be a watershed year for life. We simply must meet the challenge with prayer and continuous petitioning of our government by every single one of us at every opportunity.

As promised below is a list of the "Catholic" House Members and Senators in the now ended 110th Congress who sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act:

House Members:

Michael Arcuri - New York
Michael Capuano - Massachusetts
William Lacy Clay - Missouri
Joseph Crowley - New York
Peter DeFazio - Oregon
Rosa DeLauro - Connecticut
Anna Eshoo - California
Luis Gutierrez - Illinois
Patrick Kennedy - Rhode Island
Dennis Kucinich - Ohio
Carolyn McCarthy - New York
Betty McCollum - Minnesotta
James McGowan - Massachusetts
Gerald McNerney - California
George Miller - California
Harry Mitchell - Arizona
Jim Moran - Virginia
Patrick Murphy - Pennsylvania
Grace Napolitano - California
Frank Pallone - New Jersey
Charles Rangel - New York
Linda Sanchez - California
Loretta Sanchez - California
Carol Shea-Porter - New Hampshire
Hilda Solis - California
Ellen Tauscher - California
Mike Thompson - California
Nydia Velazquez - New York
Diane Watson - California
Peter Welch - Vermont
[I do note that Jon Christopher Porter of Nevada had co-sponsored the FOCA but withdrew his name - all should be driven to do so.]

United States Senators who are Catholic and sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act in the last Congress:

Maria Cantwell - Washington
John Kerry - Massachusetts
Robert Menendez - New Jersey
Patty Murray - Washington

All "Catholic" sponsors in both House and Senate are Democrats.