That is not the case. First, the bill has to be re-introduced in the 111th Congress. That has not yet occurred. Second, the bill has to go through the committee process in both Houses. Third, it has to pass in both the House and the Senate before it can be sent to the President for his signature.

We don't know when FOCA will be re-introduced. It could be soon, or the Democrat leadership could wait a while to do it. And, there is a possibility that some of the provisions in FOCA could be implemented "beneath the radar" through the execution of Presidential Executive Orders or regulations imposed by former Senator Tom Daschle, who is expected to win Senate confirmation as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Senator Daschle had a pro-abortion voting record in the Senate and his nomination as HHS Secretary has the strong backing of Planned Parenthood.

What Can We Expect After Inauguration Day? 

It is likely that President Obama will issue Executive Orders abolishing President Bush's restriction on federal funding for research involving the killing of human embryos who were generated after August 9, 2001. This would allow unlimited expansion of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR).

An order to reverse the Mexico City Policy which forbids funding for organizations and agencies operating in foreign countries that perform or promote abortion, could also be on the agenda.

The latest HHS regulation protecting the right of conscience for health care providers will likely be reversed.

The Abortion Lobby's Instructions to Obama 

A coalition of pro-abortion groups has posted their demands on the Obama Transition Team web site. According to CNSNews.com, the 55-page document lists the following:

• Increasing Title X Family Planning Funding which funds Planned Parenthood and others on the list, from $300 million in fiscal year 2009 to $700 million in 2010.

• Federal funding of abortions for Medicaid-eligible women, federal employees and their dependents, residents of the District of Columbia, Peace Corps volunteers, Native American women and women in federal prisons.

• Reduce the cost and increase availability of contraceptives for women on college campuses.

• Rescind the so-called "global Gag rule," or Mexico City Policy first implemented by President Ronald Reagan in 1989, to allow federal funding of programs in foreign countries that promote or perform abortions.

• De-fund abstinence-only programs.

• Increase federal funding of international family planning programs from $461 million in fiscal year 2009 to $1 billion for 2010.

• Remove age restrictions — currently 18 or older — for access to over-the- counter emergency contraceptives. [Plan B]

• Create the first-ever comprehensive sex education program that is paid for by federal dollars.

• Calls on congress to pass the Freedom of Choice Act, which would strike down all state and federal laws that restrict abortion and make federally funded abortions available in all 50 states.

• Reverse the Health and Human Services Federal Refusal Rule, which protects health care professionals who are morally opposed to promoting or providing abortions.

• Appoint judges who support Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.

Are we going to let all of this happen? You bet we're not. Not without a fight.

YOU can help.

Please visit your Member of Congress the next time he/she is home in the District. Just call the district office number, listed in the blue pages of the phone book, and ask for an appointment. Take this list with you. Take a couple of friends with you. Let your Member know that this agenda is unacceptable and you expect him/her to vote against it.

"The pro-life movement that began in the 20th century laid the foundation for the pro-life movement of the 21st century. We have been at this a long time, and we are just getting started."

Father Richard John Neuhaus