The following release came from the office of the California Catholic Conference on June 19. Governor Brown was set to sign the budget in San Diego the next day, June 20, accompanied by Calif. state assembly speaker Toni Atkins, who formerly ran the Womancare abortion clinic in San Diego.
To read the June 17 California Catholic Daily story exposing the 40 percent increase for abortion, click here.
The Most Rev. Jaime Soto, president of the California Catholic Conference and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, issued the following statement today upon word that the recently passed State Budget includes a 40 percent increase in rates paid to abortion providers, but continues a 10 percent cut in all other hospital and provider fees that endangers access to care for all women and families participating in the Medi-Cal Program. (Action Alert – click here to write to Governor Brown and urge him to VETO this abortion funding.)
“It’s no secret that millions of Californians, along with the Catholic Church, consider abortion the taking of an innocent human life. It is an intrinsic evil. No euphemism, no perversion of language can change that essential Truth.
“But buried deeply in the State Budget, and in the Medi-Cal Estimates provided by the Department of Health Care Services, is the fact that at a time when all health care provider rates remain slashed by 10 percent and women and families are struggling to find doctors, nurses and hospitals willing and able to provide essential medical care, abortion providers like Planned Parenthood and others are poised to receive a 40 percent increase in the fees they receive for performing abortions.
“This is insanely distorted health care. At a time when the state claims it is too poor to fully fund health care for nearly 10 million people, and women are struggling to find providers to give them basic medical care, the state returns a political favor by giving extra money to abortion providers.
“If that’s not bad enough, the Medi-Cal estimate that lays out this policy (attached), explains this is a cost-effective decision, because ‘Early statewide access insures services are less costly, whereas lack of access results in increased ongoing expenses for years.’
“In other words, it’s cheaper for state government to pay for abortions than care for mothers and children. By approving this budget, State elected officials are choosing abortion and pushing their preference on to women.
“What a callous and calculating thing for anyone to say, much less a government official.
“I call on Gov. Brown and the Department of Health Care Services to undo this wrong. Women deserve better. Children are not a threat to California. We believe abortion is bad health care for women and families. It is misguided to give special treatment to abortion providers. California should do better than this. Rollback this increase and fund essential health care, don’t double-down on something as wrong as abortion.”
Click here to see Women’s Health Services May 2014 Medi-Cal Estimate.
To read the original release from diocese, click here.
Thank you Bishop Soto.
Let us not forget that the 2014 California DEMOCRATIC State Platform supports:
4 of the INTRINSIC EVILS – ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE, and (Embyonic STEM CELL research).
Not to mention that Religion is a PRIVATE matter – whatever that means ? ? ?
INTRINSIC EVIL is not debatable. Intrinsic Evil is not prudential judgment.
An important lesson.
Whenever the government gets involved in health care – the government makes the rules.
Whenever the government gets involved in health care – ALL taxpayers is required to pay for the immoral choices of others rather than people taking responsibility for their own actions.
Ok all Catholics who read this.
When are you going to contact your CA Diocese Bishop about the State Democratic Platform.
Don’t give them the excuse to feign ignorance.
Don’t give them the excuse not to address the intrinsic evils.
Don’t give them the excuse to support the Democrats (again).
Contact your Diocese Bishop today !
You know PETE, we have contacted our Diocese Bishop’s for many years. Deaf ears……time and again. We need to do something more radical…..like Jesus in the Temple…….It’s hard to be a faithful Catholic AND push back on your Pastor, Clergy and Bishops…..It’s like being between a rock and a hard place, ya know? Usually, I just go and do what needs to be done without their collective approval or input.
Gee, Excellency, an entire “statement” on the CA budget increase for abortion providers, and no mention of “God” (or “Jesus”) in the procreation process. Sure there is a throw-away line about abortion being “inherently evil,” but your statement reads like any lobbyists letter to a legislative member. You are complaining about a budget issue (Planned Parenthood got too much) — again, like any lobbyist — while ignoring the real issue: that the public taxpayer is paying for murder, and the State wants to make more murders possible. It is likely you did not write this letter; whoever did should be fired, or directed to attend orthodox Catholic “refresher” courses (including yourself, as appropriate). No legislator will do anything but smile when they read your “statement”. They will see it directed to the writer’s “base” and not intended to do much real damage. (Dear Bishop Soto, would a conforming 10% budget cut to abortion providers be OK with you? It seems that it would be fine.) Unfortunately that is why most CA bishops, and USA bishops, should be dismissed. They are not really Catholic in their functioning, and really do not want to be. Of course, their dereliction of duty has resulted in the near-destruction of the Catholic Church, with the remaider being more or less Protestant in nature. Those within Sacramento should choose to redirect their contributions to Traditional Catholic organizations or churches.
Bishop Soto, start handing out Canon 915s to the governor and many of the “legislators.” What are you waiting for?
“We believe abortion is bad health care for women and families”.–DUH, ya think? How about a statement that it is EVIL???? AND, that it KILLS human beings or is the worst GENOCIDE of our generation???
Dear Friend of Life,
Pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ politicians like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and Andrew Cuomo ought to be ashamed of themselves.
So should their bishops—-Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC, Cardinal O’Malley of Boston and Cardinal Dolan of New York!
How dare these politicians vote for abortion and Planned Parenthood time after time after time?
And how dare their bishops not discipline them, thereby scandalizing and demoralizing good Catholics?
Statment from Judi Brown, American Life League……we can say the same here in CA with Brown, Peolosi, etc etc…..and our Bishops.
Great posts! When will 40 Days for Life picket the USCCB for its disobedience to Canon 915? Hireling bishops have no place in the pro-life movement as this only compounds their dereliction with hypocrisy. Whited sepulchers! Traitors! You are in danger of hell fire.
Jack Ezekiel,
GREAT IDEA! If I lived in Sad Cramento, I would be blessed to organize such a demonstration. It would be quite a lesson for others to hear their loud empty protestations about how catholic they are. I used lower case “C” intentionally!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc
Yes…..pro life activists need to picket those Bishops that can’t seem to get it right.
And what will Bishop Soto do if Governor Brown chooses not to listen? Call him Jesuit educated like another bishop did and do nothing? Oh, please Lord Jesus send us some men with some backbone.
When Soto was in the Diocese of Orange, he presided over an Immigration Mass at which he honored two of the biggest promoters of abortion because they were pro-illegal immigrant!
Fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc
Kenneth, you are usually above this, but it is not “Soto.” It is, please, Bishop Soto.
There was a slogan for a car company: YOU ASKED FOR IT, YOU GOT IT, TOYOTA! Well, the majority of bishops support the Democratic party, and so they ARE responsible for electing the anti-life leaders who now hold office.Often, both candidates, Republican and Democrat have almost the same ideas on certain issues, but being pro life MUST take preference.Unfortunately, the quasi communist, social agenda seems to satisfy the liberal bishops more than life issues, so they support and rally behind the monsters who are presently running , and ruining the United States and Canada. Because of the Jedot bishops, our nation in falling rapidly into the pit of barbarism. May God have mercy on us!
“Anne T” your prayer for men of courage is a very good one. In fact, if B. Soto did even as much as do homosexual lobbyists and activists, he would have a profound impact. Just take a look at what the homofascists accomplished over the past 10-years, and compare to the feeble record of the present Church leadership. In further fact, many, many, bishops and priests have great sympathy with a wide variety of sinful activities, often be quite willing to discuss away the differences in moral behavior as not important (aided by the demonstrable fact that many, many of these bishops and priest are, or have been, homosexual sexualists). The infusion of homosexual and homosexual sexualists has been the destruction of the Vatican II Church. And, like the evil amoeba that it is, the LGBT “nation” has sought to infiltrate each fissure, so that nothing in the Church is free from its perverted outlook and goals.
It is very sad that our Bishops have got us in the mess were in today. just like the politicians they do back door deals. Giving money to organizations like Acorn. Now hearing that in Texas some of the Catholic Charities took money from the Government. Or how about parents who pay a lot of money and much sacrifice are being taught the Obama Common Core in their schools. USCCB your are a joke!
Catholic Charities receives most of its money from government sources.