Budget Amendment Successfully Limits State Abortion Funding!

By: Jeff Caruso, Virginia Catholic Conference Director

Until Wednesday’s landmark vote, state funded abortions occurred at the alarming rate of one every three days.

The VCC is the public policy arm of the two VA dioceses.

In my previous post, I relayed that Governor McDonnell proposed a budget amendment that would drastically reduce those abortions. As you may have already heard, on Wednesday evening the state Senate cast a 20-19 vote in favor of a budget amendment to dramatically limit state abortion funding.  Earlier in the afternoon, the House also agreed to the amendment by a 64-30 vote.  Proposed by Governor McDonnell, the amendment ensures that no abortions will be paid for by state taxpayers except as required by federal law or state statute.  With the approval by both chambers, the Governor’s proposal is now part of the budget that will govern state spending for the next two fiscal years.

This life-saving budget amendment occurred in part because of the unprecedented number of people like you who advocated for this change. My staff and I heard that legislators were receiving plenty of e-mails from their pro-life constituents. If you participated by contacting your legislators – thank you!

If you have not already, I encourage you to sign up for the Virginia Catholic Conference advocacy network at www.vacatholic.org and to spread the news to your friends, family and co-workers. E-mailing your legislators about important issues only takes a moment and (as we saw on Wednesday) your contribution can save lives.

Together, we can thank God for this outcome and build for more like it in the future.

Read Full Post »

Support Governor McDonnell’s Pro-Life Budget Amendment!

By Jeff Caruso, Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference

As you may remember from my previous post, the Virginia General Assembly will be voting on amendments to the state budget on April 21. For many years, Virginia has funded abortions for reasons that go well beyond what federal laws and state statutes require.  Since the last time I posted, Governor McDonnell has proposed a budget amendment to ban state funding of these abortions.

It is crucial for the citizens of Virginia to contact their state legislators before Wednesday, April 21, in support of Governor McDonnell’s proposal. This is a concrete action that we can take to defend and protect life in our government!  Let your representatives know that you want them to ratify the Governor’s amendment to save countless lives and eliminate state spending on the vast majority of abortions currently funded with taxpayer dollars.

At www.vacatholic.org you can follow easy steps (at the top of the page) to send an e-mail to your legislators. I urge you to take a moment to let your voice be heard on this very important issue. Share this news with others who are interested in saving countless lives – according to state statistics, over 100 a year!

 Please join me in action and prayer as we seek to protect the dignity of life.  Along with this important initiative, you are invited to participate in other pro-life initiatives here in the Diocese of Arlington such as Respect Life Masses and Rosary, the Gabriel Project and Project Rachel. As a Church and as citizens of the state of Virginia, each one of us can do our part to defend the lives of the unborn.

Read Full Post »

Ban state funding of abortion, Planned Parenthood, and life-ending research!

Participants in the Annual March for Life

 By: Jeff Caruso, Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference     

“From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person-among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catholic Catechism, 2270)     

On March 14, the Virginia General Assembly approved a budget to guide state spending for the next two fiscal years.  This budget fails to prevent the use of state taxpayers’ money for abortions, Planned Parenthood projects, or research that requires a newly conceived life to be destroyed.      

Together, the Governor and the General Assembly have a final opportunity to amend the budget on April 21.  Between now and then, it is critical for us, as constituents and taxpayers, to let our state leaders know we do not want to be forced to pay for life-ending practices and providers.     

Virginia currently funds one abortion every two days, and your input is needed to stop this practice!  To take timely action, visit the Virginia Catholic Conference website (www.vacatholic.org) and use the alert linked at the top of the page.      

To find out more about public policy issues, join the Virginia Catholic Conference’s advocacy network, through which you can receive regular alerts and updates from the Conference about respect life, social justice and educational issues.

Read Full Post »