In a move that could bolster efforts to pass the health care bill, the Catholic Health Association, representing more than 600 Catholic hospitals, endorsed the measure today, rejecting the claims from anti-choice groups that it would publicly fund abortions. The chief executive of the Catholic Health Association, Carol Keehan, wrote on the group’s Web site [...]

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on ABC today that the “conversations will continue” aimed at trying to find a compromise with Rep. Bart Stupak and his cadre on abortion funding in the health care bill. Here’s the full transcript between Sebelius and former Bush campaign aide Matthew Dowd: DOWD: One very important, [...]

Here’s an amazing little article from Politico. The Roman Catholic bishops signaled Thursday that if agreement is reached with House leaders on anti-abortion language, the church would work to get the votes needed to protect the provisions in the Senate — and thereby advance the shared goal with Democrats of health care reform. What are [...]

Ben Smith has an explosive story: An aide to Rep. Bart Stupak (D. Mich.) coordinated opposition to a Senate compromise on the place of abortion in health care legislation this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, the Conference Catholic Bishops, and other anti-abortion groups, according to a chain of frantic emails obtained this morning by [...]

We should see a vote on Ben Nelson’s Stupak amendment today, and even co-sponsors like Orrin Hatch, and Bart Stupak himself, don’t think it will pass. Nevertheless, because we are a nation committed to the ideal of the separation of church and state, religious groups are making their feelings known. The US Conference of Catholic [...]

I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention. But Nelson decided later Thursday to hold off after Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, said he thought that the measure was being rushed to the floor. Hatch had expected to be the lead sponsor of the amendment, and he said he thought it was “discourteous” that Nelson was preparing [...]

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops released an “Ethical and Religious Directive” this month that would ban any Catholic hospital, nursing home or hospice program from removing feeding tubes or ending palliative procedures of any kind, even when the individual has an advance directive to guide their end-of-life care. The Bishops’ directive even notes that [...]

Everyone’s talking about the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and their imposition into the legislative debate over health care, particularly abortion. The bishops sent a letter to Senators denouncing their compromise language on reproductive choice, saying they would oppose the legislation if that language became the final compromise. They would rather retain the Stupak amendment, [...]

The most disturbing element of the Stupak amendment fight is the outsized influence of the Catholic Church, particularly the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, who insistently lobbied on the health care bill as it wrapped up in the House. The call came in from Rome, just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants [...]