HuffingtonPost.com,
November 1, 2011
Catholic
Bishops: The Men Behind The War On Women
By Laura
Bassett
A
group of men with no real background in law or medicine, but blessed
with a strong personal interest in women’s bodies, have quietly
influenced all of the major anti-abortion legislation over the
past several years. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops may
be one of the quietest, yet most powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill,
with political allies that have enabled them to roll back decades
of law and precedent.
Over the past
two years the GOP-controlled House of Representatives has launched
one of the most extreme assaults on women's choice the U.S. has
seen in decades. Republicans voted twice to slash federal family
planning funds for low-income women, moved to prevent women from
using their own money to buy insurance plans that cover abortion,
introduced legislation that would force women to have ultrasounds
before receiving an abortion and, most recently, passed a bill
that will allow hospitals to refuse to perform emergency abortions
for women with life-threatening pregnancy complications.
But the erosion
of women's rights didn't begin with the GOP takeover. President
Barack Obama's health care reform law contained some of the most
restrictive abortion language seen in decades.
Lift the curtain,
and behind the assault was the conference of bishops.
"It is
a very effective lobby, unfortunately, and now they have an ally
in the Republican majority because both groups find this a means
by which to fight women's health issues in general," said
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), a member of the House Pro-Choice Caucus.
"The bishops carry a lot of clout."
"We consider
the two biggest opponents on the other side the Catholic bishops
and National Right to Life," said Donna Crane, policy director
of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "They are extremely heavy-handed
on this issue."
While the
bishops have always been vocal on the issue of choice, they have
emerged since the 2009 health care reform debate as one of the
most powerful anti-abortion advocates on Capitol Hill.
Now, they
are stepping up their attack on women's choice with a new, high-intensity
campaign aimed at the latest front in the national anti-abortion
battle: birth control. And the opposition is worried that they
might have just enough sway over lawmakers to succeed.
On
November 6, 2009, one day before the Democrat-controlled House
was scheduled to vote on the Affordable Care Act, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reconvened with the Pro-Choice Caucus
after a contentious meeting with the bishops.
The sticking
point was abortion funding. Pelosi and the Democrats desperately
wanted to pass health care reform. The bishops dug their heels
in and refused to support a bill that didn't include the notorious
"Stupak Amendment," which would block insurance companies
from covering abortion under the plan, and the 39 pro-life Democrats
in the House couldn't politically afford to oppose the bishops.
"The
Catholic bishops were willing to bring down the health care bill
over the issue of abortion -- even though the bill did not expand
access to abortion," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said. "This
was very troubling."
Emotions ran
high as Pelosi, DeLauro and other staunch abortion rights advocates
realized they were going to have to choose between passing sweeping
health care reform and standing up for women's choice.
"Some
of these women had been working to pass the health care bill for
decades, and it had all these other great things for women, like
immunizations and maternal health provisions and preventative
care," one Democratic staffer involved in the negotiations
recalled. "You could see them having this internal struggle
with, do we sink the whole thing over this one issue?"
In addition
to having the support of the pro-life Democrats in the House,
the bishops claimed to have the support of Catholic congregations
around the country. They instructed all Catholic priests to talk
about the Stupak Amendment during Mass, issued church bulletins
and strongly urged Catholics and the clergy to oppose the entire
health care bill if the abortion provision didn't pass.
"The
bishops came out of nowhere," said another staffer who worked
on health care reform for a member of the pro-choice caucus. "They
made their appearance during the health care debate, and all of
a sudden were this hugely important group, like the NRA."
The Conference
of Catholic Bishops is not technically a lobbying organization
-- churches are tax-exempt, and they don't have to disclose publicly
how much money they put toward lobbying. According to the IRS,
a 501(c)(3) organization like the Conference can speak out on
moral issues as much as it wants, but "may not attempt to
influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities."
The
Catholic clergy's secret weapon is a man named Richard Doerflinger,
who dropped out of a doctoral program in theology 31 years ago
to work on abortion policy for the USCCB as Deputy Director of
the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. As the point person on
pro-life issues for the bishops, Doerflinger says he has been
helping lawmakers write anti-abortion bills behind the scenes
for decades, including the Stupak Amendment. In 2008 he was recognized
by the Gerald Health Foundation as one of the "greatest heroes
of the pro-life movement."
And the bishops
were not only influential in swaying votes during health care
reform debate; Doerflinger said they actually helped Reps. Bart
Stupak (D-Mich.) and Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) write the controversial
anti-abortion amendment, which the House approved by a vote of
290 to 194.
"Those
bishops were literally sitting in Bart Stupak's office and, from
what we could tell, instructing him all about the laws he should
be supporting, and the text of the laws, and the strategy of getting
them through," said Terry O'Neill, the president of the National
Organization for Women. "It was absolutely appalling."
The National
Organization for Women has called for the bishops conference to
lose its tax-exempt status over its lobbying activities.
Doerflinger
says that the bishops derived most of their power in the health
care debate from the influx of conservative Democrats after the
2008 elections.
"I think
there was a special circumstance in the consideration of health
care reform, because everybody knew that virtually all of the
Republicans were going to vote against it anyway," Doerflinger
said. "So the key role in determining what could pass the
House was held by a group of a couple dozen pro-life Democrats
who worked more comfortably with us than any the other groups
working on the abortion issue, because we also wanted universal
health care coverage."
The fact that
nearly a third of Congress -- 156 members -- are Catholic also
likely helps the bishops' cause.
"[The
bishops] have the most sway in offices that are either sympathetic
to that perspective on abortion, or where that faith has sway
-- either the member is Catholic, or there is a strong constituency
of Roman Catholics in the district," said Crane. "We've
seen all three."
Ultimately,
the bishops lost the health care reform battle when the pro-life
Democrats agreed to a compromise that excluded the Stupak language
from the bill. In exchange for their support, President Barack
Obama promised the lawmakers he would issue an executive order
against using the health care funds for abortion.
The bishops
were not satisfied. "Only a change in the law enacted by
Congress, not an executive order, can begin to address this very
serious problem in the legislation," Doerflinger wrote in
a statement.
Still, the
bishops had established themselves as a superpower in the crusade
against reproductive choice.
While
Doerflinger and the bishops have largely operated in the shadows
over the past couple of years, quietly advising lawmakers on legislation,
recent developments on the contraception front have led them to
step up their advocacy actions.
The Obama
administration has been particularly supportive of efforts to
provide contraception and family planning services to underserved
communities in the U.S. and abroad, which violates the Vatican's
teachings on abstinence and runs counter to the programs the bishops
offer to their congregations.
The Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently considering a
list of insurance coverage guidelines that would mandate that
all health plans under the Affordable Care Act cover birth control
at no cost for women. The rules have a religious exemption for
churches, but many Catholic-affiliated organizations such as charities,
schools and hospitals would still have to offer plans that cover
birth control for their employees.
The bishops
argue that the exemption is too narrow.
"You
have to hire and serve primarily people of your own faith [to
qualify for the exemption]," Doerflinger said. "Jesus
himself would not be exempt, because he treated Samaritans and
Roman soldiers. It's absurd."
HHS held an
open comment period in September during which various advocacy
groups could express their opinions on the interim guidelines
before the final version is released, but the bishops went further.
The day the comment period ended, the USCCB established a major
new political arm -- the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty
-- to continue flexing their political muscles on the issue and
convince the Obama administration either to entirely remove the
coverage of birth control from the guidelines, or to give all
Catholic-related organizations a free pass.
"The
bishops are the loudest voice when it comes to removing contraception
from the guidelines, so that no woman would have access to that
benefit," said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, policy counsel at the
American Civil Liberties Union. "In lieu of that, they're
asking for sweeping exception that would completely swallow the
rule and make the guidelines meaningless for women."
The bishops'
new initiative is multi-pronged. In addition to submitting official
comments to HHS and urging parishes around the country to do the
same, the bishops are pushing their agenda in Congress.
"Religious
freedom is a fundamental freedom," Bishop William Lori, the
chair of the ad hoc committee, told HuffPost in an interview.
"It should not become a second class right to other so-called
rights that have been discovered farther down the road."
"No one
would ever dispute the ready availability of so-called reproductive
services in our society for 
anyone
who wants it," he continued.
Lori testified
before the House Judiciary Subcommittee last week about what he
said were recent government assaults on the freedom of religion.
"I am
here today to call your attention to grave threats to religious
liberty that have emerged since June -- grim validations of the
bishops' recognition of the need for urgent and concerted action
in this area," Lori said. "I focus on these because
most of them arise under federal law and so may well be the subject
of corrective action by Congress."
Lori urged
subcommittee members to support three bills currently in Congress
that would help to codify their agenda: the Protect Life Act (H.R.
358), the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 361) and the Respect
for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179) -- all anti-abortion
and anti-contraception bills that Doerflinger says he directly
influenced.
Doerflinger
told HuffPost he had "some input" into the Protect Life
Act, which was sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and passed
by the House in October. Nicknamed the "Let Women Die Act"
by opponents, the bill would prevent women from using their own
money to pay for private insurance plans that cover abortion under
the new health care exchanges, and it would also allow religious
hospitals to refuse emergency care to pregnant women in need of
life-saving abortions.
Doerflinger
worked with Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry (R-Neb.) on the Respect for
Rights of Conscience Act, which would impose a giant religious
exemption onto the new HHS recommendations, preempting the Obama
administration. The bill would allow insurance companies to "decline
coverage of specific items and services that are contrary to the
religious beliefs of the sponsor, issuer, or other entity offering
the plan," meaning that thousands of women who work for Catholic
organizations, even if the women are not personally Catholic,
would be denied the preventative health coverage options available
to most other women in America.
"These
new mandates are ideologically driven by Obama and [HHS Secretary]
Kathleen Sebelius," Fortenberry said. "The religious
exemption is very narrow, and frankly, it's insulting and discriminatory.
It would allow an institution to opt out only if it serves people
of its faith tradition, so you can envision a situation in which
a Catholic hospital has to hang a sign in the window: No Baptists
allowed.'"
"Even
Jesus wouldn't qualify," he added, echoing Doerflinger.
Doerflinger
said the bishops "were probably more involved than any other
group in Washington I can think of" on Fortenberry's bill.
And their message is resonating in Congress: In addition to last
week's Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, the bishops are appearing
at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee forum on Wednesday
to testify about the narrow scope of the religious exemption.
"That's
their slim basis for having the hearing, that they say it violates
provider conscience rights," said Rep. Capps, a member of
the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
"The real purpose of the hearing is to prevent women from
getting access to preventative health care. It isn't a rational
hearing, but it's not the first hearing we've had that's not rational."
What the bishops
haven't mentioned during their highly public anti-contraception
campaign is the large amount of money at stake.
The USCCB
established the ad hoc committee just days before the story broke
that HHS was dropping the bishops from a massive $19 million,
five-year contract to help victims of sexual trafficking. The
bishops believe they lost the contract because they refuse to
provide trafficking victims the full range of contraceptive and
gynecological services that other agencies provide, such as abortion
referrals, birth control pills and condoms.
"The
efforts of the Church in the field of human trafficking and also
in serving the poorest of the poor has been hampered, not by a
legislature, but by the HHS, because we refuse to compromise our
conscience," Lori told HuffPost. "We are being forced
to choose between our mission and our beliefs, and we believe
that is a violation of religious liberty."
President
of Catholics for Choice Jon O'Brien, however, believes the establishment
of the ad hoc committee was more about money and political power
than religious liberty.
"This
is really a political committee designed to lobby to get the results
bishops want for their charities," he told HuffPost. "International
aid is a big business, and the bishops are investing the staff,
time and resources to make an issue around this so they don't
lose more contracts going into the future."
If the bishops
can sway Congress and the Obama administration over to their side
on the issue of contraception, it could restrict access to birth
control for millions of U.S. women and sexual trafficking victims
worldwide.
"What
they're attempting to do is use the legislative process to legislate
us and others into their sense of morality," O'Brien said.
"If you can't reach them at the pulpit, you go to Congress!
And sometimes they win."
The
assumption that the bishops represent Catholic voters and have
some sway over how those constituents will vote is not necessarily
true. The Catholic vote is huge: 68.5 million Americans, about
a quarter of the U.S. population, are Catholic. But polls suggest
the bishops' views on abortion and contraception do not at all
reflect the views of most Catholics.
"The
bishops are entirely out of sync with the people they purport
to represent," said Donna Crane, NARAL's policy director.
"All the polling and public opinion research is very clear:
Catholics are majority pro-choice. They hold that belief, they
use the services and they just aren't in agreement with the hierarchy
on these issues."
The Catholic
clergy opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest, stem
cell research and all artificial contraception and sterilization
methods, including birth control pills and condoms.
But according
the 2008 National Survey of Family Growth, 98 percent of sexually
active Catholic women over the age of 18 have used some form of
contraception banned by the Vatican. Even among more religious
Catholic women, who attend Mass on a weekly basis, 83 percent
use some form of contraception.
In 2009, 63
percent of Catholic voters said they support health insurance
coverage for contraception, including birth control pills, according
to a Belden Russonello Strategists poll. A 2008 Pew Research poll
found that only 21 percent of Catholic respondents believe abortion
should be illegal, and a new study released Oct. 24 shows that
Catholics have become increasingly likely to say that issues of
sexual morality and abortion should be left up to individuals
-- not the church.
There are
even some disagreements among Catholic leadership over abortion
and sexual morality issues. A coalition of religious orders representing
about 59,000 nuns sent a letter to Congress in early 2010 urging
them to pass health care reform, despite the bishops' objections
that the bill would allow federally subsidized abortions.
"Despite
false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide
taxpayer funding for elective abortions. It will uphold long-standing
conscience protections and it will make historic new investments
-- $250 million -- in support of pregnant women," wrote the
nuns. "This is the REAL pro-life stance, and we as Catholics
are all for it."
Capps said
the nuns are some of the Democrats' biggest allies in the choice
debate.
"The
bishops don't represent all the Catholic voices. We have an ally
in several Catholic organizations, mostly comprised of nuns,"
she said. "And they're at the front lines. That's where health
care is delivered, by them, in the hospitals. They provide the
services."
When asked
about the dissonance among Catholics and the leadership on abortion
and contraception issues, Bishop Lori said that divisions were
beside the point.
"It's
not for a government to exploit fault lines within religious institutions,"
he said. "We recognize that not everybody shares that teaching;
nevertheless, it is a fundamental right for the church to stand
by their convictions."
The
ultimate victory for the bishops would be to reverse Roe vs. Wade,
the 1973 Supreme Court decision that prevents states from banning
abortion before the fetus is viable. But even without that prize,
women's choice advocates said the effect the bishops have had
on reproductive choice in the U.S. has already been noticeable.
"Women
have fewer abortion rights today than we had three or four years
ago," O'Neill said. "We are so grateful for our friends
in Congress who stopped the Stupak amendment, but ultimately we
did see an anti-abortion provision go into health care law, and
in 2011 alone we had more than 100 anti-abortion laws signed into
law at a state level, which is unprecedented."
O'Neill finds
it troubling that a group of men that has historically denied
women the opportunity to participate in leadership positions is
exercising so much power over such a broad range of women's reproductive
health legislation.
"Clearly
there's a problem when men take such an interest in the sexual
function of women," she said. "There's something deeply
off about it."
The Democrat-controlled
Senate is likely to reject any anti-abortion bills the House passes
under influence of the bishops. But as HHS considers the final
ruling on preventative health coverage guidelines, a key question
is whether the Obama administration will end up caving to pressure
from the bishops on the issue of birth control.
Capps says
she believes it "surely could."
"It makes
me very nervous," she said. "The administration and
the secretary have been beleaguered on all sides throughout this
health care debate, and I don't want this to be the straw that
breaks the camel's back."
"Is this
the one they have to cave on, because they have to cave somewhere?"
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