Editorial

Conscience: Right must be protected

Many of our ancestors came to the United States to live in freedom. They wanted the opportunity to express their opinions freely and to act according to their beliefs.

Out of their desire for freedom came the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Among these are the right to free speech, to assembly, and to worship. Out of these rights flows our freedom to exercise our consciences, to make choices based on our opinions and beliefs.

Exercising our consciences. As citizens we must obey the laws of our land. But we Americans expect to be able to exercise our consciences in many aspects of our lives as citizens.

That's why our country has allowed people to become conscientious objectors to military service when there is a draft. That's why we have allowed health care workers to refuse to participate in performing an abortion or sterilization.

But there are other medical procedures which involve taking of human life. These include assisted suicide, euthanasia, and destruction of human embryos. Under current state law, health care professionals cannot decline to participate in such procedures, even if they find them immoral.

Proposed bill. A bill now being considered by the Wisconsin Legislature would change that. It expands the ability of health care workers to refuse to perform acts that violate their moral and ethical views.

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) is supporting Assembly Bill 67. "Catholics believe that the conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of the human person," WCC Associate Director Kathy Markeland told the Assembly Committee on Labor in recent testimony.

She noted that technology and human progress present people with new challenges. "As science furthers our understanding of the human body, we encounter new ethical and moral concerns, particularly at the beginning and the end of life."

Markeland added, "Cooperation in immoral acts cannot be justified by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits the act or even requires it. Rather, the law may not compel people to act contrary to their conscience."

For health care workers, this is especially important. Most people go into this field with the intent of healing people and saving lives. Many do not want to cooperate in taking a life against their conscience.

I encourage supporters of AB 67 to contact members of the Assembly Committee on Labor to send this bill to the Assembly floor for debate and passage. Help protect the rights of all health care workers in Wisconsin to act as their conscience tells them.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

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To the editor:

As a Catholic who believes in the innate worth of all life, I was very shocked and angry after reading Paul Schultz's letter in the Feb. 27th issue of The Catholic Herald. Although he questions and mocks Catholics who vote Democratic, he is the one with flawed reasoning.

I do not understand, when so many things are at stake, how Catholics can consider only one (albeit important) issue when voting. Yes, we must strive to vote for a pro-life candidate, but we must also understand what pro-life really means.

A true pro-life politician would be: anti-abortion; anti-death penalty; anti-war; pro-gun control; pro-environment; an advocate for the poor, homeless, and disenfranchised; in active pursuit of a living wage and health care for all while keeping corporate greed in check. As no politician fits all these qualifications (and our current president only one), a Catholic must pick the candidate who exemplifies the most of these characteristics.

I am very tired of anti-abortion activists who fraudulently call themselves pro-life and try to emotionally bully others into voting for anti-abortion candidates, regardless of those candidates' positions on other equally important issues.

It is time for "pro-life" people to stop hiding behind a single issue and become true supporters of all life from conception to natural death.

Katherine F. Brophy, Madison

U.S. must not repeat mistakes

To the editor:

If the U.S.A. goes to war against Iraq, hopefully the U.S. government won't repeat the mistakes made in the Mogadishu conflict.

In the conflict, Secretary of Defense under President Clinton, Les Aspin, arrogantly rejected the pleas of the commander in the field, Major General Thomas M. Montgomery, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell, for tanks and necessary heavy equipment. The result was 18 U.S. soldiers killed and 73 soldiers injured.

All Americans got to see on TV the charred body of a U.S. serviceman dragged through the streets of Mogadishu to the gleeful howls of the frenzied mob.

After this horrible event, Les Aspin didn't receive a word of reprimand.

Charles J. Sippel, Waterloo

Columnist has hidden agenda

To the editor:

I can generally tolerate the naïve and uninformed opinions put forth by Tony Magliano in an otherwise good diocesan newspaper. However, his Feb. 20th column concerning the "state of the union" deserves comment.

He has an obvious "agenda" and is attempting to cover it with Christ's cloak. In his final paragraph his true colors appear, i.e., "global solidarity," "multilateral disarmament," and "greed" concerning world resources.

These are the rallying cries of the anarchists who protest around the globe (think of the trashing of Seattle). They're anti-everything that America stands for and it's a real shame that you provide such a person a forum in The Catholic Herald.

If you took Magliano's tortured logic and applied it to the church's current sex scandal, I'd predict that you'd find him recommending forgiveness 7 X 77 times for predator priests. That is no more offensive than this back door defense of Saddam Hussein.

Antone F. Kucera, Madison