Catholic Groups Question Candidates – Part 1
Questions for U.S. and State candidates relate to matters of life, death, conscience and creation.
Published: 06.30.08
The Florida Catholic is one of four statewide Catholic entities that participates in the Candidate Questionnaire Project, soliciting and disseminating responses from congressional and state legislative candidates on questions important to Catholic voters. This is the first in a three-part series in which the Florida Catholic Conference, which drafts the questions, explains what was asked and why.
ORLANDO | Creating questions for candidates to answer can be a tightrope to walk for Catholic Church representatives.
Just ask Michael McCarron, executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference. Each election cycle, the conference, which serves as the lobbying arm for Florida bishops, develops a set of questions for Florida’s legislative candidates and another set for congressional candidates. State and congressional candidates for the offices of representative and senator are offered the opportunity to answer the conference’s questions through the Candidate Questionnaire Project.
This year’s questionnaire for candidates on the ballot for the Aug. 26 primary and Nov. 4 general elections includes 10 questions relevant to issues of life, death, education, health care, economics and social justice. McCarron said the conference also takes into account general concerns based on Catholic social teaching and issues expected to arise in the upcoming legislative session. Before questions are sent to candidates, various others within church leadership have an opportunity to help refine the questions.
The Candidate Questionnaire Project began two decades ago and since then, it has been a cooperative effort between the Florida Catholic Conference, Florida Catholic newspaper, the Florida Council of Catholic Women and the Knights of Columbus Florida State Council. Candidates’ answers to the questionnaire will be available in late July through this site and at www.informedcatholicvoter.com.
— Jean Gonzalez“These questions are not just about whether a candidate believes abortion or the death penalty should be illegal,” McCarron said. “Serving in our government is not always about shades of black and white. There are many shades of gray. We frame our questions so that while we cover issues important in terms of Catholic social teaching, we also want to understand how candidates might vote on legislation that deal with issues of social and/or moral conscience. We want to look at these issues through the eyes of a legislator and seek answers that help educate all voters, Catholic and otherwise.”
There are several topics covered in the questionnaires, but five issues are common to the questionnaires for state and federal candidates – abortion, parental rights in education, embryonic stem-cell research, conscience protection and environment.
ABORTION
U.S. congressional question: Do you support or oppose using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion?
Florida legislative question: Do you support or oppose requiring an ultrasound be performed and reviewed with a woman prior to a first trimester abortion with a provision that allows her to decline to view?
Neither of these questions asks candidates whether they believe abortion is wrong or should be illegal. McCarron said the questions attempt to deal with abortion in a realistic way for today’s world. In terms of the congressional question he said, “Even though access to abortion may presently be the law of our land, whether taxpayer money should be used to take innocent life is a key policy question.”
The state legislative question is posed because there has been continued debate in Florida’s House of Representatives and Senate as to whether allowing a mother to see a live ultrasound of her unborn child should be the policy of our state. “The Florida House has passed this legislation two years running,” he said, “and the Florida Senate almost did so last session, failing in the last week on a disappointing 20-to 20 tie vote.” This law would afford a mother true informed consent, yet would not force her to view her unborn, he said.
EMBRYONIC STEM-CELL RESEARCH
U.S. congressional question: Do you support or oppose using taxpayer funds for research that involves destroying live human embryos to obtain cells for experimentation?
Florida legislative question: Do you support or oppose banning state funding of research that involves destruction of a live human embryo?
As with the abortion topic, the congressional question deals with taxpayer funds.
The Florida legislative question also deals with funding, but is particularly addressed at efforts to amend the state constitution allowing for $20 million in state funds to underwrite this type of destructive research, McCarron said. The questionnaire attempts to obtain policy makers’ views on this question and call attention to the fact that these proposals exist.
“The legalities of issues such as abortion and embryonic stem-cell research are one thing, but where money comes from to fund those activities is another,” McCarron said. “It is a consideration voters have to address in the voting booth, even when the ‘legal’ activity is morally reprehensible in their opinion. When an issue against Catholic social teaching is legal, we cannot ignore that fact. We must make the effort to raise consciousness and to change hearts and minds on these issues. Informing policymakers and voters that these proposals exist is a first step in achieving this change.”
ENVIRONMENT
U.S. congressional question: Do you support or oppose reducing greenhouse gas emissions by requiring energy efficiency and pollution prevention in order to protect the earth for future generations?
Florida legislative question: Do you support or oppose providing incentives to state businesses to encourage use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, etc.?
“Our environment is an important consideration for the Catholic Church. Regard for God’s creation goes back to Genesis,” McCarron said. “Legislation should work toward the well-being of our ecosystem, but especially it should keep a view toward the poor who are least responsible and most impacted by the effects of global climate change.”
Florida’s fragile ecosystem is a serious concern, especially in light of the amount of growth the state has experienced in the past two decades and the growth anticipated in the next two decades.
“Water conservation and land development are serious concerns, not just buzzwords, and each of us has an obligation to care for our earth, for our children and grandchildren and theirs.” McCarron said.
CONSCIENCE PROTECTION
U.S. congressional question: Do you support or oppose preventing federal agencies and states that receive federal funds from discriminating against health care providers who do not perform or participate in abortions (Hyde-Weldon Amendment)?
Florida legislative question: Do you support or oppose protecting social service and health providers from being forced to provide services that contradict their moral principles?
In late 2004, Congress enacted the Hyde-Weldon Amendment, named for U.S. Reps. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), which protects the rights of health providers, individual and institutional, from government discrimination because they decline to provide, pay for, cover or refer for abortions. “This is a recurring and always fierce battle in Congress,” said McCarron. “The policy is sound and contributes to a growing attitude that abortion does not have to be the answer to difficult and troubled pregnancies.”
No such amendment exists on the state level, and the legislative question addresses the policy question as to whether patients should be able to receive any type of treatment from any health care service or provider. Should hospitals be able to decide if they do or do not wish to offer abortion procedures? Should pharmacists be able to decide whether to dispense methods for birth control?
“Those three considerations get to the heart of the matter behind asking candidates that question,” McCarron said.
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