Washington D.C., Mar 18, 2010 / 10:52 am
In a statement on Wednesday, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) spoke out against a statement from a group of religious sisters in support of the Senate health care bill that made headlines yesterday. CMSWR underscored that endorsement of the bill is “directly” opposed to the U.S. bishop's stance on health care reform.
NETWORK claimed in a March 17 letter to the House of Representatives that it represents 59,000 women religious across the U.S. and urged members of Congress to “cast a life affirming 'yes' vote” for the Senate health care bill.
“The health care bill that has been passed by the Senate and that will be voted on by the House will expand coverage to over 30 million uninsured Americans,” the NETWORK letter states. “While it is an imperfect measure, it is a crucial next step in realizing health care for all.”
The sister's letter continues to say that “despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions.” The letter also claims that the Senate bill “will uphold longstanding conscience protections and it will make historic new investments – $250 million – in support of pregnant women. This is the REAL pro-life stance, and we as Catholics are all for it.”