Dear Bishop ...

When you can bear a child, then you have a say in whether a woman can get an abortion - at least for yourself

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is a bill introduced in the United States Congress in 2004. It would remove all restrictions on abortion in the United States, both on the state and federal level. “FOCA goes far beyond guaranteeing the right to an abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy. It arrogantly prohibits any law or policy interfering with that right,” says Bishop Serratelli. This is the “dark reality” kept secret by propagandists for ‘choice.’

But that's not the best part of the Bishop's argument. No, once again we find ourselves listening to the whining about the medical practitioners:

Among those no longer free to choose under FOCA, says the bishop, would be pro-life doctors and nurses, whose freedom of conscience is currently protected under the law. Religious hospitals and clinics would also be forced to perform abortions up until the birth of the baby.

Of course, what these clowns omit is that there are cases (albeit rare) where late term abortion is appropriate for both the mother and the baby (largely because the baby won't survive birth anyhow, and would kill the mother in the process).

From where I sit, the notion of "religious hospitals" is chilling. There are far too many religious types running about who would deny treatment on "moral grounds" in all sorts of situations. I'd hate to be sitting in a hospital awaiting treatment, only to be told it was denied on some moral grounds ... but the person in the next bed would be treated.

Here we have some moralizing priest - who is not an MD, nor is he a woman dictating to both what is fundamentally an ethical and moral decision best dealt with individually. Even if a miracle were to occur, and the Bishop found himself suddenly able to bear a child, his say on abortion still would not extend beyond his own body.

At its most fundamental level, the decision to carry a pregnancy through to birth is the woman's. So is the decision to end it early. The medical practitioners need to deal with it as an ethical issue in making their decision to participate. Other parties are only participants in the conversation at the consent of the pregnant woman - in other words only those whom she chooses to involve in the discussion.