NY Times begins the countdown to the health vote with a chart on House members still in play on the health vote. U.S. Rep. Marion Berry is still rated as a toss-up, perhaps because there’s still some maneuvering for an alternate idea for placating anti-abortion representatives with still more burdens on a woman’s right to choose. But an article on a dozen or so considered most likely to come over doesn’t mention Berry.
Good article on the divide between nuns and bishops on the abortion language, which includes from Rep. Stupak some of the condescending treatment of women often evidenced in Catholic debates.
“With all due respect to the nuns, when I deal or am working on right-to-life issues, we don’t call the nuns,” he said on the MSNBC program “Hardball.”
The divide between the nuns and the bishops reflects a larger one nationwide among those who both oppose abortion and believe that the nation’s health care system must be overhauled.
“When I read the Gospel, where is Jesus? He’s healing the lepers,” Sister Simone said. “It’s because of his Gospel mandate to do likewise that we stand up for health care reform.”
As for Mr. Stupak, he is in a fair bit of trouble with nuns for his remarks.
“We have a number of nuns in his district, and they’ve been calling him,” said Sister Regina McKillip, a Dominican nun who lives in Washington. “Who’s been on the ground, in the field? Who knows the struggles people have to deal with? It’s the sisters.”