| March 24, 2008 | Volume 83, Number 11 | |
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State budget decisions did not choose lifeVirginia taxpayers have funded abortions at the alarming rate of almost one every two days over the last two years. Yet, the budget adopted by the General Assembly on March 13 extends state abortion funding for the next two years as well. The newly approved budget also continues to subsidize Planned Parenthood of Virginia — the state affiliate of the country’s largest abortion provider — and permits state funding of life-destructive research. Why, you may ask, are taxpayers like you and me being forced to pay for such things? Last month, the House of Delegates had approved budget provisions prohibiting state funding of abortions and of research that requires a human embryo to be destroyed or a baby to be aborted. Although the Senate’s version of the budget did not include these items, the full Senate did at least vote to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, as proposed in a floor amendment. But even with both chambers putting these taxpayer-conscience protections in the mix, by the time budget negotiations ended none of these items remained. Not even one out of three! Although the reason these provisions were not included in the budget has been the subject of much speculation and debate, the outcome makes one thing quite evident: Much more grassroots pressure will be needed to let legislators know loud and clear in 2009 how extremely unacceptable it is to force taxpayers to finance life-ending practices.
The “Join the Network” button on the Conference’s website (www.vacatholic.org) makes it very easy for people to sign up to receive regular alerts and updates on respect-life, social-justice, and Catholic-school-related issues. Although 3,000 members is a good start for an organization that is only three years old, that number needs to multiply many times over before public-policy decisions will reflect the values that our Church and so many of its members cherish. Your voices are urgently needed to bring Gospel values to bear on decisions that literally determine life and death! On a much more positive note, the Governor vetoed Conference-opposed legislation that would have made accomplices to murder eligible for death sentences under a wide range of circumstances. Although the House overrode the veto, the Senate sustained it, and thus prevented this broad death-penalty expansion from becoming law. If you would like to send the Governor an e-mail thanking him for his veto, please visit www.governor.virginia.gov, and click on “Contact the Governor.” When typing your message, please also ask him to include provisions in the budget to ensure that you are not forced to contribute your tax dollars toward abortions, embryonic stem-cell research, or Planned Parenthood’s coffers. Between now and April 23, the Governor has an opportunity to amend the budget he has received from the General Assembly. Please urge him to include the conscience protections that you have every right to expect when your own money is involved.
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I want to personally thank each person in the Virginia Catholic Conference’s nearly 3,000-member e-mail network who took action on repeated alerts on these extremely high-priority items. Many other people, though, must join this network if these and other items protecting the poorest and most vulnerable among us are to succeed in future years.