Catholic Bishops Slam Obamacare

Historic measure advances after late deal-making

(NEWSER) - Cheers erupted on the floor of the chamber as the House passed the Senate health care reform bill tonight, 219-212, after a late compromise on abortion funding gave Democrats the votes they needed to advance the historic measure. The vote followed 9½ hours of contentious debate that wrapped up with an impassioned speech by Nancy Pelosi. "We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us," said the speaker, who compared the legislation to Social Security and Medicare. More»

Obama will issue executive order reiterating Hyde Amendment

(NEWSER) - President Obama will sign an executive order forbidding the use of federal funding for abortion, and Bart Stupak and his anti-abortion allies will vote to pass health care reform, the Michigan Democrat announced this afternoon. The shift means the measure is almost certain to pass when it's voted on tonight. Stupak insisted that he supported reform, but "there was a principle that meant more to use than anything, and that was the sanctity of life," reports Talking Points Memo . More»

Spat over Patrick's position on abortion escalates

(NEWSER) - Health care reform, the cause of his father's life, has made Rep. Patrick Kennedy persona non grata in his Rhode Island parish—thanks to the furor over publicly funded abortion. As the debate rages, Bishop Thomas Tobin has told the only public servant remaining in America's most famous Catholic family not to receive communion because of his pro-choice stance, Kennedy tells the Providence Journal . More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama told Pope Benedict XVI yesterday that he would make every effort to reduce the number of abortions in the US, according to a Vatican spokesman. Bioethics and life issues were the focus of the men's 40-minute talk yesterday. The pontiff gave the president a booklet explaining the church's opposition to abortion and stem cell research, Reuters reports. More»

Order charges Notre Dame 'risks its soul' by letting prez speak

(AP) - Ten priests from the Holy Cross order that founded the University of Notre Dame say the school risks its "true soul" and could alienate itself from the Catholic Church by inviting President Obama to campus next month. They urged the Holy Cross priest who heads Notre Dame to reconsider the invitation to Obama because he supports abortion rights. More»