Petition to ban public abortion funding gains steam after new abortion funding law
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The movement around Petition 1 swelled after the signing of
House Bill 3391 this summer. The new law requires health insurers to cover
abortions.
Petition 1, being circulated by Oregon Life United, would
ban public financing of abortions in all cases except those medically necessary
or if required to be funded by federal law. The petition has garnered support
from Bishop Liam Cary of Baker, Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland and the
Oregon Catholic Conference.
“As followers of Christ, we desire to stand up for the weak
and most vulnerable among us. Abortion not only results in the death of a
child, but also inflicts severe harm on the mother and father and all who are
involved in it,” wrote Archbishop Sample in a letter to his priests.
After three previous attempts at getting enough signatures
failed to meet the constitutional requirement for placement on an election
ballot, petitioners now need 117,578 by July of next year. As of today,
petitioners have about 89,500 signatures.
“The pro-life message and teachings of our church on the
dignity of life need to be shared with love, and hopefully, we can get all
Catholic Oregonians at least aware of the opportunity to make a difference for
life in our state,” said Suzanne Belatti, an organizer for the Petition One
campaign.
Most
parishes have had parishioners involved in the campaign, but not all.
Information on becoming a signature gatherer can be received at stopthefunding.org.
