U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a self-professed devout Catholic, will receive an award from abortion giant Planned Parenthood at a reception Thursday evening. The award will be given in recognition of her efforts in passing the federal health care legislation, and, in particular, for her help in ensuring that the Stupak abortion funding ban was not inserted in the bill.
A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood confirmed with LifeSiteNews.com that Pelosi would be receiving the Champion for Women's Health award, which recognizes "efforts to support women and their reproductive health."
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will also receive the award.
In a statement, PP lauds Pelosi for having been "instrumental" in the passage of the federal health care bill, which was strenuously opposed by every major pro-life organization in the U.S., as well as the U.S. Catholic bishops, because of its abortion mandate. The statment also praises Pelosi for having "led her female colleagues in Congress as they stood strong against attempts to insert the Stupak abortion ban into the bill."
"With their steadfast commitment to passing health care reform and making sure that women will be able to get the health care they need, the women leaders we honor today set the course to change the lives of millions of women for generations to come," said PP President Cecile Richards.
While Pelosi and the Obama administration have repeatedly claimed that the health care law would not fund abortion, pro-life groups have warned that such claims are clearly contradicted by the facts. They have also warned that the last-minute Executive Order (EO) issued by Obama in exchange for the votes of the few remaining "pro-life" Democrats led by Bart Stupak does little more than "reiterate" what is already in the bill.
Immediately after the bill was passed in March Richards issued a statement dismissing the EO as a "symbolic" gesture, and announcing that "monumental progress" had been made in strengthening "women's health."
Ironically, at the very height of the health care debate, even as the U.S. bishops were stepping up their efforts against the bill and its abortion funding, Pelosi publicly invoked one of the most prominent Catholic saints – St. Joseph, who is also revered by Catholics as "patron" of the unborn - to help pass the health care bill.
"Today is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker," Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill in March. "It's a day where we remember and pray to St. Joseph to benefit the workers of America, and that's exactly what our health care bill will do."
This is not the first time that Pelosi has attempted to reconcile her pro-abortion views with her professed faith.
Contact: John Jalsevac
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Date Published: July 15, 2010
