Obama has promised in bold and belligerent words to make the Freedom of Choice Act his first, most important act as President. Consistent with his lifelong passion for encouraging abortion, even encouraging his daughters to have abortions, Obama’s first act as President will be to drive a permanent wedge between the United States and the Catholic church.
The Battle Will Cost Lives
US Catholic Bishops have promised to close every Catholic hospital in the United States should FOCA become law. The Church operates about 1/3 of the hospitals in the US and a disproportionately high number in poor rural and urban areas.
The Church must close the hospitals–it cannot sell them or turn them over to a third party–because any action by the Church to continue the hospitals' operations would be tantamount to murder.
Even the prospect of selling the institutions to other providers wouldn’t be an option, the bishops have said, because that would constitute “material cooperation with an intrinsic evil.” (The Corner via Ed Morrissey)
FOCA Would Unleash a Two-Front War
Obama’s signature on a law that denies medical practitioners the right to refuse to participate in abortion or infanticide would ignite a two-front social war in the United States.
Up to half of the poor would have no access to medical care of any kind, including emergency care. This situation would create a firestorm of frustration and anger. If conservatives properly frame the situation, the anger will be aimed at Barack Obama for risking or taking people’s lives in pursuit of his corrupt and immoral social aims.
The second front would be the battle with the Catholic church. Closing the hospitals would undoubtedly draw retaliation from Obama and Congress. As I predicted on election night, the Justice Department would order the Church to ordain women, which the church would refuse. At this point, the government have little choice but incarcerate Catholics, particularly bishops and priests.
How the War Might Unfold
This moral war might take several paths or combination of two or more:
Catholics could abandon the church in large numbers. Many Catholics in America are such in name only. They do not believe in the Church’s Magisterium on abortion, divorce, birth control, and myriad other issues. Most American Catholics are malformed. For that matter, a large percentage of Catholic priests and nuns have little or no knowledge of actual church teaching. Catholics who remain faithful to the Church would likely withdraw from public life, leaving America to its own devices.
The closure of hospitals might cause a rapid, bailout-style seizure of the entire medical industry in America. In short, Hillarycare by fiat. This scenario is also likely and would signal the end of Constitutional government in America.
Anti-abortion Christians could band together as refuseniks. A series of general strikes could cripple American economy, forcing the government to a negotiation. This is unlikely. Americans just aren’t very strong people anymore.
Finally, having already abandon most of his economic campaign promises, Obama could simply choose to avoid the confrontation by reneging on his repeated promise to make FOCA his first act as president. This is the likeliest scenario.
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