Letter
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua's May 2003 Letter to the U.S. House of Representatives regarding FY 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1588)
Cardinal Bevilacqua writes, "You will soon consider the FY 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1588). Joining with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, which has sent all House members its own letter on this issue, I urge you to oppose the Sanchez amendment.
The Sanchez amendment would strike from existing law a longstanding ban on the performance of abortions at military hospitals overseas. The existing ban contains exceptions for cases where the mother’s life is endangered or pregnancy occurred from rape or incest. If the Sanchez amendment is adopted, our nation’s fine military hospitals around the world could be compelled to perform abortions on demand."