New Abortion Legislation Could Close Catholic Hospitals.

Obama has promised to re-file the 2004 Freedom of Choice Act, promising major changes in the US abortion landscape.

The bill failed to get out of subcommittee in 2004, but sponsor Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is planning on re-filing now that co-sponsor is President.

A spokesman for Rep. Nadler, said the legislation "is among the congressman's priorities. We expect to reintroduce it sooner rather than later."
The bill aims to make Roe vs. Wade's rulings legally binding.

The legislation has some Roman Catholic bishops threatening to shutter the country's 624 Catholic hospitals — rather than comply.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki, a Chicago auxiliary bishop, said, "It would not be sufficient to withdraw our sponsorship or to sell them to someone who would perform abortions," he said. "That would be a morally unacceptable cooperation in evil."

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is expected to introduce FOCA in the U.S. Senate.

In its last incarnation, FOCA defined abortion as a "fundamental right" that no government can "deny" or "interfere with." That language, FOCA's opponents warn, would help overturn abortion restrictions such as parental notification, laws banning certain procedures and constraints on federal funding.