Important U.S. Legislation
Congressional staff say personalized letters are most impactful. Call the United States Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 or find her/him online at www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative to send an email.
Good news! Recently the Senate voted to advance a bipartisan amendment to extend lifesaving financial compensation and healthcare to more people who were exposed to radioactive fallout. But negotiations between House and Senate are yet to happen, so keeping this amendment needs to be encouraged.
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While there hasn’t been much movement on this yet, our member organizations Feminists for Life and Democrats for Life endorse this. It includes: tax benefits for working families including a child tax credit which would include unborn children; allowing parents to pull forward up to three months of Social Security benefits to finance parental leave; pregnant students rights; community mentors for moms; a federal clearinghouse of resources available to pregnant mothers; expanding WIC benefits; strengthening child support enforcement; Title X funding to pregnancy resource centers.
There may be some controversy over funding mechanisms, but of course legislation is always worked out with revisions from different points of view. These are some basic good ideas, with funding to be considered, and there are undoubtedly other good ideas as well. But it’s crucial we get moving on life-affirming services.
Note: while it’s possible to have legislation that combines a couple of our issues, most of the time, legislation is focused on one item. Therefore, when we pick out specific bills, we’re likely to be leaving out other good legislation. You can be more comprehensive about good legislation by following single-issue advocacy groups for the issues of most concern to you.
Supporting a Ukrainian Pacifist
Yurii Sheliazhenko has been formally charged by the Ukrainian government with the crime of justifying Russian aggression. The evidence is this statement which explicitly condemns Russian aggression. You can sign a petition on his behalf.
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With the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki just passed, Sarah Terzo details the impact of the bombing on Hiroshima’s Children.
Quotation of the Week
Sr. Eileen Reilly, SSND
Catholic Mobilizing Network
Reading James’ story, I was struck by an uncomfortable prick of familiarity. The details are all too similar to a case I was involved in many years ago. In that case, Michael also dropped all his appeals, forcing Connecticut — a state that had not executed anyone in 45 years — to move forward with his execution.
Many people . . . like to think about the death penalty in superficially clear-cut terms: a punishment reserved for the most violent of criminals. Even if this were accurate, there’s the issue of human dignity — even people who’ve committed grave harm have a claim to the sanctity of life.
But what happens when the illusion of simple, straightforward punishment crumbles, and we’re faced with an execution that’s become a thinly-veiled attempt at state-assisted suicide? Must we then reckon with the death penalty in a new way?