The Iowa Catholic Conference and other “pro-life” groups today staged a news conference to publicly call on Governor Vilsack to sign the bill which requires a 24-hour waiting period for abortions. The bill, which Vilsack has indicated he’ll veto, also calls on clinics to give women seeking an abortion information about adoption and keeping the child. Iowa Catholic Conference executive director Dr. Thomas Feld says they believe the waiting period in many cases, will give women the opportunity to seek an alternative if they chose to do so. And he says it will let them make a truly well informed choice for this most-difficult decision.Catholics across the state have been urged by their church to lobby Vilsack, who is a Catholic, on the bill. Feld, however, does not go so far as to say Vilsack should be denied the sacraments of his church if he vetoes the billHe says Catholics do not have to abide by church policy in all of their public decisions. He says if Catholics make a well-informed decision, it will most likely follow the church’s teaching.Iowa Family Policy Center president Chuck Hurley says Vilsack, who was adopted as a child, should find his own past a compelling reason to sign the bill. Hurley asked, “How many future governors are aborted because women don’t have all the information they need to make this life-changing decision?”Wendy Armstrong is the state prayer chapter coordinator for the Concerned Women of America. She says they feel God’s word should be the first and final authority in making the decision. She says the bill would save the lives of countless babies.
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