"Pro-life" votes and SCHIP

The Archbishop Romero Catholics have started a fight in D.C., pointing out the inconvenient fact that voting against SCHIP and against expanded healthcare for children is not a "pro-life" position.

SCHIP is admittedly not sustainable — to be sustainable, healthcare reform must eliminate the protection racket we call the health insurance industry. However, there are millions of children who need healthcare now.

Catholics United, a progressive, nonpartisan Catholic organization, ran ads urging 10 congresspeople to vote for SCHIP. The politicians were:

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida
Rep. Joseph Knollenberg, Michigan
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, Michigan
Rep. Tim Walberg, Michigan
Rep. Steve Chabot, Ohio
Rep. Gene Taylor, Mississippi
Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota
Rep. Sam Graves, Missouri
Rep. Thelma Drake, Virginia
Rep. John Peterson, Pennsylvania

In Rep. Thaddeus McCotter's district, the ad's script looks like this:

“I'm the mother of three children, and I'm pro-life. I believe that protecting the lives our children must be our nation’s number one moral priority. That’s why I’m concerned that Congressman X says he’s pro-life but votes against health care for poor children. That’s not pro-life. That’s not pro-family. Tell Congressman McCotter to vote for health care for children."

Rep. McCotter, the fourth highest ranking Republican in the House, then wrote False Prophets Arise, a diatribe against Catholic United for the National Review. Catholics United, he writes, is"a Leftist political front group. No one should be fooled when this devil cites Scripture for his own purpose."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, and the Catholic Health Association all urged Congress and President Bush to support SCHIP.