Focus on FOCAPresented by:

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North TexasRespect Life Ministry of the Diocese of Dallas

www.prolifedallas.org

Focus on FOCAFOCA is the “Freedom of Choice Act”

- First introduced in 1989 in response to Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services restricting taxpayer funding of abortions.

- Introduced again in April 2007 by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in response to the

US Supreme Court ban on partial-birth

abortion, Gonzales v. Carhart.

What Is FOCA?“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.”

Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America web site

“It is the most radical and extreme abortion legislation ever considered by the US Congress.”

Source: USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities FOCA Fact Sheet

What will FOCA do?

- Remove the few restrictions that Roe allowed.

- Eliminate the rights of states to regulate abortion.

- Enshrine abortion as a national entitlement that government must condone and promote.

- Create a fundamental right to abortion through all9 months of pregnancy that no government bodycould interfere with.

What Will FOCA Do?

1) FOCA forces taxpayers to fund abortions

- Roe allowed states to regulate or ban funding of abortions. FOCA removes this.

- 69% of the American public do not support public funding of abortions. Source: Zogby March 2006 Poll

What Will FOCA Do?

2) FOCA requires all states to allow partial-birth and other late-term abortions

- FOCA’s April 2007 reintroduction was sparked by the US Supreme Court’s ban on partial-birth abortion.

- 70% of the American people want partial-birth

abortion banned. Source: January 2003 Gallup poll “Roe v. Wade has positive public image.”

What Will FOCA Do?

3) 3) FOCA subjects women to abortions by non-physicians

- 75% of the people do not support non-physician abortions in one state (Vermont).

4) Source: 2000 Wirthlin Poll.

- Abortion industry in dire need due to loss of doctors willing to perform abortions.

What Will FOCA Do?

4) FOCA violates the conscience rights of pharmacists, nurses, doctors and hospitals

- One Bishop warned that Catholic healthcare institutions, including hospitals, would have to close rather than be forced to provide abortions.

Source: http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/120808hospital.html

What Will FOCA do?

5) FOCA strips parents of their right to be involved in their minor daughters’ abortion decision.

- Statistics show parental consent and notification laws reduce teen abortions. Source: New England Journal of Medicine: Changes in Abortions and Births and the Texas Parental Notification Law, March 2006.

- Public favors parental consent and notification laws by more than 60%. Source: CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, November 2005

Does Pro-Life Legislation Work?

Three types of laws in particular reduce the abortion rates among minors:

- Parental Notification and Consent Laws

- Laws eliminating taxpayer funded abortions

- Informed Consent Laws.

Source: New, Michael. "Analyzing the Effect of State Legislation on the Incidence of Abortion among Minors," Heritage Foundation, 5 Feb 2007.

Impact

FOCA would remove the ability of our culture to dialogue about the effect of abortion on women. “The Debate is Over.”

FOCA would ncrease the number of abortions annually by as many as 125,000 per year.

Source: Bowman, Matt, Alliance Defense Fund, Barack Obama's "Freedom of Choice Act“Would Mean 125K More Abortions.

FOCA would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government to reduce abortions in our country.

What Do People Say?

- There is no poll, no survey or public opinion

piece that shows any support for the measures

FOCA represents.

- Many people are not aware of what FOCA is.

Abortion and other social issues received less

than 1% coverage in the presidential campaign.

Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: How the News Media Covered Religion in the General Election

10 Things You Can Do

1) Sign the Petition

2) Call or write your US Congressman and two US Senators

3) Educate Yourself

4) Join the Catholic Action Team (CAT)

5) Tell others about FOCA

10 Things You Can Do

6) Track FOCA through Congress

7) Distribute the USCCB Ad and FOCA Fact Sheet

8) Participate in the USCCB’s nationwide postcard campaign

9) Support the Pregnant Women Support Act

10) Host a “Focus on FOCA” seminar at your parish or organization.

More Information

For more information, visit our website at:

www.prolifedallas.org/FOCA

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