New Campaign: Catholics Support Public Funding for Abortion in Good Faith
Today, Catholics for Choice launched Abortion in Good Faith, a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of Catholics across the country who want abortion to be accessible and affordable for everyone—no matter how much money they have, where they live or what they believe. This first phase of the campaign includes ads featuring Catholics who support public funding of abortion because of their faith. Ads appeared today, in both English and Spanish, in more than 20 national and local print publications, including Politico, The Nation, the Chicago-Sun Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Dallas Morning News and La Opinión.
“The ban on public funding is the single most detrimental policy to women’s access to abortion in the US,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice. “We are tired of this grave injustice and our campaign lifts up the voices of Catholics who want this policy to change.”
Currently, the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding for Medicaid coverage of abortion services other than in a few narrow exceptions—pregnancies from rape or incest or that endanger the life of the woman. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that one in four women enrolled in the Medicaid program who wants to terminate a pregnancy can’t obtain an abortion because of the Hyde Amendment.
While members of the Catholic hierarchy might tell policymakers and the media otherwise, Catholics don’t agree with the Hyde Amendment or its offshoots. Catholics are called to follow their conscience and required to serve those with the least among us. This includes calling for reform to policies that disproportionately affect poor women. Restrictions on public funding for abortion affect the social, economic and reproductive wellbeing of low-income women and women of color. It’s crucial that legislators understand that Catholic voters think that restrictions on public funding of abortion are unjust.
“How we treat the poor is a critical component to our social justice tradition. Being Catholic is not just about going to Mass on Sunday; it’s about following this tradition to help the poor and vulnerable every day. It’s not an option—as Catholics, it’s our calling,” said O’Brien.
Note to editors: Participants of the Abortion in Good Faith campaign are available for interviews; please contact Carolyn Browender at media@catholicsforchoice.org to schedule an interview. More information about the campaign is available at InGoodFaith.us.