Pope Francis meets President Joe Biden on Oct. 29, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 22, 2022 / 10:40 am (CNA).
President Joe Biden pledged to defend a so-called right to abortion and reaffirmed his commitment to the widespread availability of the procedure in a Jan. 22 statement marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
“The constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago today is under assault as never before,” reads the statement, which was co-signed by Vice President Kamala Harris. “It is a right we believe should be codified into law, and we pledge to defend it with every tool we possess.”
“We are deeply committed to protecting access to health care, including reproductive health care—and to ensuring that this country is not pushed backwards on women’s equality,” the statement continues.
The statement was released one day after tens of thousands of pro-life advocates gathered in Washington for the annual March for Life.
Biden and Harris condemned efforts by pro-life lawmakers to enact restrictions on abortion, saying that “in Texas, Mississippi, and many other states around the country, access to reproductive health care is under attack.”
“These state restrictions constrain the freedom of all women,” they wrote, adding that such restrictions are “particularly devastating for those who have fewer options and fewer resources, such as those in underserved communities, including communities of color and many in rural areas.”
In addition to support of codifying a right to an abortion throughout the entirety of a pregnancy, Biden and Harris wrote that they will “continue to work with Congress on the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
The Women’s Health Protection Act would establish “a statutory right for health care professionals to provide abortion and the right for their patients to receive care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care.”
If passed, the bill would also eliminate requirements including mandatory waiting periods and ultrasounds before the procedure can be performed.
Biden and Harris wrote that it is important to “ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have the same fundamental rights that their mothers and grandmothers fought for and won on this day, 49 years ago.”
“At this pivotal moment, we recommit to strengthening access to critical reproductive health care, defending the constitutional right established by Roe, and protecting the freedom of all people to build their own future,” the statement reads.
Biden is the second Catholic president and the first to be elected since Roe v. Wade. In an interview with The Washingtonian when Roe was issued, Biden said he was more moderate on many social issues, including abortion.
“But when it comes to issues like abortion, amnesty, and acid, I’m about as liberal as your grandmother,” Biden said at the time. “I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body.”
While in the Senate, Biden repeatedly voted for legislation that would prevent the taxpayer funding of abortion. However, his views on abortion began to shift over time.
By his last year in the Senate prior to becoming vice president, Biden received a zero rating by the National Right to Life Committee. The last time Biden received a score above zero from the pro-life committee was in 2003-2004.
“There’s no surprise here,” said Mercedes Schlapp, former strategic communications director for the Trump administration, in a Jan. 21 interview with EWTN’s Owen Jensen. “We knew he was going to be radical on abortion. We knew he was going to support abortion— late term abortions. We know he’s obsessed and [the Democratic] party is obsessed with codifying Roe v. Wade.”
“As Catholics, we need to be vocal,” she continued. “We need to stand strong and we need to tell the president this is not right. We need to defend the unborn.”
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Leon is a baby boy cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. / Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 24, 2022 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Amid a shortage of baby formula in the U.S., experts recommend parents scour smaller drug stores, check online, and join social media groups sharing information.
But here’s another, perhaps lesser-known, option they can also turn to for help: pregnancy resource centers.
Nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers serve millions of people each year in the United States. They offer women and parents in need everything from health care and material assistance to educational classes and job support — at little to no cost. Right now, for many of these centers, their work also includes connecting struggling families to baby formula.
One center in Michigan, an affiliate of Heartbeat International, a pro-life pregnancy resource center network, revealed to CNA that it has a surplus of formula.
“At this time, we haven’t heard of formula shortages at the pregnancy centers,” Andrea Trudden, vice president of communications and marketing at Heartbeat International, told CNA. “Quite the contrary, actually!”
Trudden recommended families turn to their local pregnancy help organizations for assistance and use OptionLine.org as a tool to find the center closest to them.
“Since pregnancy centers are equipped to help pregnant women and new families with practical resources such as diapers and formula,” Trudden said, “they have been able to step into that gap during this time.”
Some pro-life maternity homes in states such as Virginia and North Carolina said mothers are in desperate need and exploring all of their options, including feeding their babies with formula samples. But, these homes tell CNA, they are walking with mothers in their search, every step of the way.
What is this shortage about?
The nationwide baby formula shortage was caused, and then exacerbated, by a series of factors: supply-chain issues, recalls, the closure of a major production plant in February, and even U.S. trade policy. The result, data-firm company Datasembly found, is that more than 40 percent of baby formulas were out of stock in early May.
Babies with special needs and allergies rely on formula, along with babies in general. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63.3% of infants were exclusively breastfeeding seven days after birth in 2018. Three months after birth, only 46.3% of infants exclusively breastfed. Six months after birth, that percentage changed to 25.8%
The trouble with formula began partially with the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents stockpiled baby formula at the beginning, which increased production, only to later discover that they had a surplus to use up, which decreased production.
After consuming formula from an Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, four babies became sick, including two who died, from bacterial infections. This led to a recall and the plant shutting down in February.
These incidents exposed the formula market as one not structurally prepared for emergencies, with just four companies largely in control of supply in the United States. U.S. and regulatory trade policy only added to the problem, restricting the exchange of formula internationally, The Atlantic reported.
Months into the shortage, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached an agreement with Abbott, one of the largest U.S. baby formula manufacturers, to reopen its Sturgis plant in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to prioritize the production of formula. And, in the meantime, the U.S. military has begun importing formula from Europe.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for action. Senate Democrats are pushing a bill that would send $28 million in emergency funding to the FDA. Congress passed, and Biden signed into law, a bill to expand access to formula for lower-income families during emergencies.
In the meantime, before the shelves are fully stocked once more, pregnancy centers and maternity homes around the country are helping parents in need.
“I have never seen this much formula. We have an overflow!” Lois Stoll, a volunteer who manages the formula supply at the center, said in a press release. The center, one of Heartbeat International’s 1,857 affiliate locations, accumulated its surplus over the last two years, during the pandemic.
“It really is the result of an unexpected set of circumstances,” Bryce Asberg, the executive director, added in the release. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of clients fell but donations continued to come in.”
Baby formula is stored on shelves at Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center in Hillsdale, Michigan. Courtesy of Helping Hands
Asberg told CNA that the center has been running a material assistance program for several years where it provides mothers and families with baby clothes, diapers, wipes, and baby food or formula.
“We still offer all those items to clients who come in, but recently we have noticed a surge of interest in formula,” he said. “God has been building our supply of formula for many months, and we didn’t know why we had so much. Now we do!”
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Janet Durig, the executive director of Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, said that her center also has baby formula on hand.
“We’ve had some phone calls seeking help and we’ve had formula to give them,” she told CNA. But, she emphasized, the supply is limited because they rely on donations.
“We have it to help people on a limited basis and are helping people on a limited basis,” she said, adding that the center welcomes donations of unopened bottles or cans of formula as long as they have not expired.
Connecticut
Leticia Velasquez, executive director and co-founder of Pathways Pregnancy in Norwich, Connecticut, encouraged moms and families to reach out if they need formula.
She told CNA that the three-year-old center is there for any woman or mom in need.
“We just say, ‘How can we fill the need? That’s what we’re here for,’” she said. “We definitely stand with them in any crisis, whether it be a formula shortage or an unplanned pregnancy.”
Parents in eastern Connecticut looking for baby formula can text the center at (860) 222-4505.
North Carolina
Debbie Capen, the executive director of MiraVia, said that the baby formula shortage is affecting her group’s work in supporting and providing resources to new moms in need. The Catholic nonprofit runs an outreach center in Charlotte and a free college residence at nearby Belmont Abbey College where a pregnant student — from any university or college — can stay until her child turns two years old.
“Yes, the mothers we serve are very concerned about the baby formula shortage,” Capen told CNA. “We always encourage breastfeeding for our expectant mothers, but for those who cannot breastfeed, they usually rely on vouchers for baby formula through the USDA’s WIC program.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s WIC program, also known as the “Special Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,” offers federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and young children at nutritional risk.
Capen highlighted that WIC only covers one specific brand of formula, which means that moms must pay full price for any other label. Formula is at a premium price right now, she added, which only puts more stress on their limited resources.
In each state, baby formula manufacturers bid for exclusive rights to provide formula to WIC participants in that state. In return, they offer the state discounts, or rebates. For those who rely on WIC, this means that they face limited options.
In response to the scarcity, the mothers at MiraVia are turning to alternatives: food pantries and the MiraVia community.
“They communicate with our staff and each other when they find formula at a certain location, as well as contact stores to find out when shipments are expected,” Capen said. “They substitute with generic brands when possible and reach out to their pediatricians for recommendations and even free samples.”
Capen listed some ways that people can help during this shortage, beginning with communication and the sharing of resources.
“For example, you can help by searching posts on social media and community apps like NextDoor or OfferUp to find those with formula and suggest where it can be donated,” she said. “Remind friends and family not to stockpile so that the supply of formula can flow to those in most urgent need. If you are pregnant and have received free samples of formula, donate what you won’t use to food pantries or programs for new mothers.”
Virginia
Kathleen Wilson, the executive director of Mary’s Shelter, a faith-centered maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, agreed that “our moms have had many difficulties.”
She told CNA about one of their mothers who gave birth to her fourth baby three months ago. At first, she used a formula brand called Enfamil Reguline. After it became unavailable, she began switching between brands and using whatever she can find, Wilson said. The mother has also tried ordering on Amazon and turned to her pediatrician for samples.
Yaretzi is a baby girl cared for and loved at Mary’s Shelter, a pro-life maternity home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Courtesy of Mary’s Shelter
“This is a mom who is trying to hold down a job, with an infant and other children to tend to,” Wilson stressed the “very difficult” situation.
Wilson said that two of the other mothers spent days driving around at one point to try to find formula for their babies. When necessary, they are also turning to sample packets of baby formula.
“Our staff and volunteers have been assisting with this and picking up and delivering formula when they can get their hands on it,” Wilson said, adding that donors have also pitched in.
“We are blessed with wonderful donors,” she said. “A friend just stopped in this morning with two cans of formula that he was able to find.”
“If donors are willing and can find formula, we would be thrilled to take their donation,” she said, concluding that she is “praying this comes to an end soon.”
Denver Newsroom, Feb 7, 2022 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
Following an Illinois judge’s Friday ruling that nullified a statewide mask mandate for schools, the superintendent of schools for the Chicago archdiocese says masks will continue … […]
Spray-painted graffiti outside Life Choices, a pro-life pregnancy center in Longmont, Colorado. / Courtesy of Longmont Public Safety
Denver, Colo., Dec 1, 2022 / 14:40 pm (CNA).
The FBI is offering a $17,500 reward for credible leads in the ars… […]
21 Comments
It has been one year since Biden was inaugurated. He continues to call himself a devout Catholic and receive Holy Communion whenever he wants. It is an ongoing scandal that discredits the Church hierarchy from Francis on down. What has become of the (watered-down) Eucharistic Coherence Statement anyway? It is collecting dust on the shelf.
This pitiful excuse of a Catholic fails to manifest the life of Christ. Such a sorry soul deserves lots of prayer; the sin of murder cries out to God from the earth. Neither fossil fuels nor Trump are the cause of Joe’s and America’s problems. Murder is.
Bergoglio, Cupich, Tobin, Gregory, McElroy, Stowe and a pack of other hirelings should be hanging their heads in shame. So where is Biden’s “seamless garment” of life, bishops, now that your “man of character,” the “one you can talk with” is determined to codify murder as a fundamental right?
How much more proof does the American Catholic hierarchy require that Biden must be excommunicated? The American bishops’ collective failure to do this while issuing vapid and toothless documents on “Eucharistic coherence” leaves each and all of them with the blood of the murdered innocents on their hands and their heads. It has reached the point where the question must be asked whether the American bishops are themselves Catholics.
1) When referring to Biden’s professed ‘faith’ it would be appreciated if you would not capitalize it.
2) It is worth our while to point out again – and again and again – that ALL of its most fervent adherents REFUSE whenever possible to use that ugliest, most foul of words –
If Catholics had voted the Church’s teaching on abortion even once during the past half century, killing babies would be the third rail of American politics. Untouchable.
Any candidate pursuing supporting abortion would have no hope of winning and would be summarily bounced from public life.
American Catholics, take warning: By ignoring your Church’s most fundamental teachings and voting for Democrats, you have assumed primary responsibility for this monstrous holocaust, the like of which humanity has never seen before.
I am waiting to hear the strong words of condemnation about this from the bishops – such as, this is “unfortunate”, “problematic”, “hurtful”, etc. These strong words would be uttered prior to giving him communion.
Cackles and Chairman Joe support a “right” that is not in the Constitution, while denying the unborn a right that IS in the Constitution — LIFE, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Roe was wrongly decided and gave women a “right” to murder their babies. It’s not a right. It’s a horrible wrong.
Canon 915 forbids Biden from Holy Communion. His bishops fail to enforce it. We can only speculate as to why they’re refusing to perform this obligation.
Joe Biden, along with every other First World nation, unapologitically and wholeheartedly support abortion. To subsidise this, they also support unlimited immigration or our populations would decline.
It is truly a bargain with the devil.
If the Bishops lacked the courage to make a public statement about Biden and his abortion stance, they were free to approach him privately and say he may not go to Communion until there was a change in his public statements. Ditto, the Pope could have met with Biden, as he is the Head of the USA, a position of tremendous power. They could even have just met privately, sans public media. But he didn’t have to seem so happy and glad to do so. Facial expressions say a great deal, as does silence. Words, and a very public statement, are not always necessary to get the mission accomplished.
We overlook the historic and multicultural tradition now “affirmed” by our very own Joe Biden…
…the Roman emperor Caligula credited for his cruelty, perversions, and such; the Turko-Mongolian Tamerlane, credited with erecting towers of human heads to mark his passing (but probably only 42,000 heads in all); the Aztec Montezuma, from a long line of indigenous emperor-surgeons famous for involuntary open-heart surgeries (in the tens of thousands); and the notoriously “bloodthirsty” Sultan Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif from the world of Islam in Morocco…
Now to the New World: since 1973 some 62 million and counting…whom under the sleepy-eyed and weather-vane Biden, and Aztec princess Pelosi (the “sacred ground” of late-term and post-birth abortions) would be codified into Federal Law, and then federally funded by compulsion from a national taxpayer populace.
So, a multicultural and sobering thingy—but that’s dead-on-arrival in Congress, except as an election bullet-point to be parroted by complicit media talking heads seeking prime-time market share.
Nothing good comes supeficial piety and a complete lack of fear of God. Maybe it’s intuition based on my reading of human history, devoid of divine revelation; but I can see how this man is leading this entire nation into complete corruption and ultimate doom.
By the obvious throwing his support to Biden, Bergoglio, as pictured above, is implicitly supporting the killing of babies. Would Pius XII have allowed himself to be pictured with Hitler knowing full well that Hitler was, at the same time, authorizing the execution of Jews just because they were Jews?
52 years ago. {1968} Way back in the mists of time.A little band called the Rolling Stones sang a song called “Sympathy for the Devil”. As the above photo illustrates our current Pope has NO problem shaking and patting the hand of the Devil.All while smiling
happily, and passing on his words of Sympathy. Even the blonde lady witness to this defilement smiles agreeably.The only one NOT smiling? Christ hanging on the wall behind all three of these good friends.
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” I Corinthians 11.27-29.
The leaders of every world religion ought to be schooled in the most up-to-date research concerning the methods of natural birth control. There are videos presented on the Internet that Cycle Technologies, in coordination with the Georgetown University Institute for Reproductive Health, has made available for any cleric or lay person to view. (Including political leaders.) These methods include the Standard Days — CycleBeads, and TwoDay methods.
Aborting late-term babies (or any baby) because women are ignorant of the total range of options at their disposal is the perpetuation of mankind’s most grievous fallen nature. The bishops (“overseers”) of the Catholic Church need to re-think their approach, and turn to more intense education of these natural birth control strategies.
It has been one year since Biden was inaugurated. He continues to call himself a devout Catholic and receive Holy Communion whenever he wants. It is an ongoing scandal that discredits the Church hierarchy from Francis on down. What has become of the (watered-down) Eucharistic Coherence Statement anyway? It is collecting dust on the shelf.
This pitiful excuse of a Catholic fails to manifest the life of Christ. Such a sorry soul deserves lots of prayer; the sin of murder cries out to God from the earth. Neither fossil fuels nor Trump are the cause of Joe’s and America’s problems. Murder is.
Bergoglio, Cupich, Tobin, Gregory, McElroy, Stowe and a pack of other hirelings should be hanging their heads in shame. So where is Biden’s “seamless garment” of life, bishops, now that your “man of character,” the “one you can talk with” is determined to codify murder as a fundamental right?
Biden is a “trans-Catholic”, i.e a person who self-identifies as a Catholic without actually meeting the objective criteria to qualify as one.
How much more proof does the American Catholic hierarchy require that Biden must be excommunicated? The American bishops’ collective failure to do this while issuing vapid and toothless documents on “Eucharistic coherence” leaves each and all of them with the blood of the murdered innocents on their hands and their heads. It has reached the point where the question must be asked whether the American bishops are themselves Catholics.
1) When referring to Biden’s professed ‘faith’ it would be appreciated if you would not capitalize it.
2) It is worth our while to point out again – and again and again – that ALL of its most fervent adherents REFUSE whenever possible to use that ugliest, most foul of words –
Abortion
Say it again
Abortion
If Catholics had voted the Church’s teaching on abortion even once during the past half century, killing babies would be the third rail of American politics. Untouchable.
Any candidate pursuing supporting abortion would have no hope of winning and would be summarily bounced from public life.
American Catholics, take warning: By ignoring your Church’s most fundamental teachings and voting for Democrats, you have assumed primary responsibility for this monstrous holocaust, the like of which humanity has never seen before.
I am waiting to hear the strong words of condemnation about this from the bishops – such as, this is “unfortunate”, “problematic”, “hurtful”, etc. These strong words would be uttered prior to giving him communion.
Cackles and Chairman Joe support a “right” that is not in the Constitution, while denying the unborn a right that IS in the Constitution — LIFE, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Roe was wrongly decided and gave women a “right” to murder their babies. It’s not a right. It’s a horrible wrong.
Canon 915 forbids Biden from Holy Communion. His bishops fail to enforce it. We can only speculate as to why they’re refusing to perform this obligation.
Joe Biden, along with every other First World nation, unapologitically and wholeheartedly support abortion. To subsidise this, they also support unlimited immigration or our populations would decline.
It is truly a bargain with the devil.
The man in the photo at the head of this article is not Catholic.
Pope Francis meets President Joe Biden on Oct. 29, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
That photo! VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED HOLD YOUR BREAKFAST!
Where’s the catechesis, the SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD? HUH?
If the Bishops lacked the courage to make a public statement about Biden and his abortion stance, they were free to approach him privately and say he may not go to Communion until there was a change in his public statements. Ditto, the Pope could have met with Biden, as he is the Head of the USA, a position of tremendous power. They could even have just met privately, sans public media. But he didn’t have to seem so happy and glad to do so. Facial expressions say a great deal, as does silence. Words, and a very public statement, are not always necessary to get the mission accomplished.
We overlook the historic and multicultural tradition now “affirmed” by our very own Joe Biden…
…the Roman emperor Caligula credited for his cruelty, perversions, and such; the Turko-Mongolian Tamerlane, credited with erecting towers of human heads to mark his passing (but probably only 42,000 heads in all); the Aztec Montezuma, from a long line of indigenous emperor-surgeons famous for involuntary open-heart surgeries (in the tens of thousands); and the notoriously “bloodthirsty” Sultan Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif from the world of Islam in Morocco…
Now to the New World: since 1973 some 62 million and counting…whom under the sleepy-eyed and weather-vane Biden, and Aztec princess Pelosi (the “sacred ground” of late-term and post-birth abortions) would be codified into Federal Law, and then federally funded by compulsion from a national taxpayer populace.
So, a multicultural and sobering thingy—but that’s dead-on-arrival in Congress, except as an election bullet-point to be parroted by complicit media talking heads seeking prime-time market share.
Nothing good comes supeficial piety and a complete lack of fear of God. Maybe it’s intuition based on my reading of human history, devoid of divine revelation; but I can see how this man is leading this entire nation into complete corruption and ultimate doom.
By the obvious throwing his support to Biden, Bergoglio, as pictured above, is implicitly supporting the killing of babies. Would Pius XII have allowed himself to be pictured with Hitler knowing full well that Hitler was, at the same time, authorizing the execution of Jews just because they were Jews?
52 years ago. {1968} Way back in the mists of time.A little band called the Rolling Stones sang a song called “Sympathy for the Devil”. As the above photo illustrates our current Pope has NO problem shaking and patting the hand of the Devil.All while smiling
happily, and passing on his words of Sympathy. Even the blonde lady witness to this defilement smiles agreeably.The only one NOT smiling? Christ hanging on the wall behind all three of these good friends.
Luke 16:10 –
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” I Corinthians 11.27-29.
The leaders of every world religion ought to be schooled in the most up-to-date research concerning the methods of natural birth control. There are videos presented on the Internet that Cycle Technologies, in coordination with the Georgetown University Institute for Reproductive Health, has made available for any cleric or lay person to view. (Including political leaders.) These methods include the Standard Days — CycleBeads, and TwoDay methods.
Aborting late-term babies (or any baby) because women are ignorant of the total range of options at their disposal is the perpetuation of mankind’s most grievous fallen nature. The bishops (“overseers”) of the Catholic Church need to re-think their approach, and turn to more intense education of these natural birth control strategies.
18 months later we have that disgusting picture, which begs the question – what more need be said?
Joe, you of the Rosary in your pocket, I have a question – what is the 4th Luminous mystery?