A Message from the USCCB

Dear faithful pro-life bloggers,

Greetings from the USCCB’s Pro-Life Secretariat. I’m Deirdre McQuade, and I oversee communications efforts to teach Catholics and the general public to respect all life from conception to natural death.

First, I want to thank you for all you do to help raise awareness in the blogosphere on the fundamental dignity of life — especially of the most vulnerable members of our society, the unborn. Our office did an extensive assessment of pro-life blogs recently and could found that your work was of high quality — reflecting the dignity of life in content, style and spirit. Your communications efforts, like mine, help fulfill the bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities calling for “a great campaign in support of life.”

I’m writing now b/c you can play a vital role at this time in the Pro-Life movement.

You are already likely aware of the direct attacks against conscience rights in health care. This is a serious tactic serving the culture of death in our country. Most recently, the new Administration has moved to rescind the Bush Administration’s HHS regulation implementing long-standing (but also long-under-enforced!) federal conscience protection laws. As a result, OB/GYN’s and other medical personnel will continue experiencing pressure to perform or refer for abortion or get out of the practice of medicine. If the regulation is rescinded, they will have no any formal recourse to register their complaints!

Pregnancy is not a disease, and abortion is not health care. Good doctors and nurses know this in their deepest core.

We must speak up now to protect their conscience rights! The public was given 30 days to express their urgent support for the regulation. The comment period ends next week on Thursday, April 9.

HHS is required to read and count every message they receive. Will you help us get the word out and mobilize pro-life America in defense of conscience rights?

For the final week of public comment, we’ve designed two animated web ads for you to consider using on your blogs. The “button” (180 x 150 pixels) and “banner” (468 x 60) ads may be viewed with their full animation and HTML code here.

Both ads feature the traditional symbol of medicine as well as the USCCB logo, and read:

Defend Conscience Rights in Health Care
E-Mail HHS by Thursday, April 9
Click for more info.

The clickable ads would send your readers to our main conscience protection page, www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection where they may learn more. From this site, they can connect to our partner organization, NCHLA’s* website to send their own personalized e-mail message to HHS in support of the regulation.

Thank you for considering my invitation to help build a viral campaign for conscience rights!

Yours for life,
Deirdre

PS: When the comment period closes April 9, consider replacing the conscience protection ad with the national pro-life e-mail campaign ad. This postcard-shaped digital ad complements the ongoing anti-FOCA postcard campaign, and is available here.

*NCHLA = National Committee for a Human Life Amendment

Deirdre A. McQuade, MA, MDiv
Assistant Director for Policy
& Communications
Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th St. NE
Washington, DC 20017
ph: 202.541.3087
fx: 202.541.3054
[email protected]

Note the snazzy ad on my left rail! Put one on your blog too!